


An Unxpected Path

by chemrunner57



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:34:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26552179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemrunner57/pseuds/chemrunner57
Summary: The war is over. Before they can get themselves figured out, Hermione leaves Ron to go to Australia to find her parents and restore their memories and their relationship. Hermione explains that she needs to do this alone, but will return as soon as she can.Things don't go necessarily according to the plan and Ron finds himself on an unexpected path.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood/Ron Weasley
Comments: 13
Kudos: 24





	1. Getting to the Burrow

CHAPTER ONE

It had been two and a half days since Voldemort fell, and the Weasleys were all gathered in Hogwarts’ Great Hall for the last time before finally heading home to the Burrow. Well, almost all the Weasleys were headed there, as Bill and Fleur were headed back to Shell Cottage and despite the pleadings of Molly, George was headed back to his and Fred’s flat above their shop in Diagon Alley. Harry and Hermione had been told by Molly that they too were family and she wouldn’t even consider them not coming to the Burrow with the rest of ‘their family.’

Ron sat quietly facing Hermione on the bench next to him, holding both her hands in his lap. They had been together almost the entire time since the fighting ended; even sleeping together in Ron’s bed in the Gryffindor dorms. Right now they were just glad to be alive.

Harry and Ginny likewise were next to each other as well, and been together just like Ron and Hermione. All four were still exhausted and neither couple had really had the time or energy to discuss their relationships, or whatever it was they had between them. Everyone just wanted to go home. They were just waiting for Arthur to return with Bill after making sure the Burrow was safe.

Ron looked around the Great Hall and noticed that Luna Lovegood was sitting by herself over on what used to be the Ravenclaw table. He remembered what had happened to her house when the Death Eaters had arrived and had failed to capture Harry. Ron wondered if the house could ever be repaired, so he was curious where Luna was going to go. He wondered if she even knew her house had been destroyed by those evil people.

Giving Hermione a small smile he looked over again and asked, “Hey Luna, are you ok?”

“Yes, Ron, I’m fine. I’m just trying to process everything that has happened,” she replied looking up at him.

“Do you know where you’re going now?”

“Home, although I don’t know if Daddy is there. I’ve sent two owls to him telling him what happened and asking about coming home, but I haven’t heard back from him.”

“Uh, Luna, I think there might be a problem. I don’t think your house is there anymore. Harry, Hermione, and I were there when some Death Eaters attacked and it looked like they destroyed everything. I’m so sorry.”

Luna stared at Ron for a moment and frowned and Ron could see tears running down her cheeks as her head slumped down. She cried quietly for a moment before looking up back at Ron.

“No wonder Daddy didn’t reply. Now I don’t know where I’m going to go.”

Ron looked over at this mum and said quietly, “Mum, can Luna come home with us? We think her house got destroyed and she doesn’t have anywhere to go.”

Molly looked up quickly and scanned the room looking for Luna. She saw Luna sitting alone with tears on her face.

“Of course, Ron, she can come home with us. We’ll figure out where everyone sleeps when we get home.”

Ron smiled and looked at Hermione, and dropped her hands as he stood up. “I’ll be right back,” he whispered. Ron stood and walked over to Luna and sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. “I’m so sorry Luna, about your house. Please come home with us to the Burrow. Hermione and Harry are coming too.”

Luna looked up at Ron and then buried her face in his chest and sobbed. After a moment she looked back up at Ron and said softly “thank you, that would be wonderful,” and then hugged him even more.

Arthur and Bill returned shortly later and assured everyone that the Burrow was remarkably intact and all curses or traps had been removed. With sighs of relief all around, the rest of the Weasleys, including honorary members Harry, Hermione, and Luna rose to make their way to the floo. Ron had Hermione’s hand in his right hand and Luna’s in his left as he looked around the Great Hall one last time. His shoulders sagged a bit as he surveyed all the destruction, but with a deep breath he squared his shoulders and stood tall as remembered all that they had accomplished as he headed home.

Once everyone had arrived, Molly immediately headed to the kitchen to ascertain the state of her private domain. The rest of the family all found seats in the lounge.

Ron looked at around at everyone. He knew he was still exhausted, so he presumed everyone else was too, so he wanted to get everyone situated as quickly as he could. “Harry, you’ll be up with me in my room as usual, ok?”

“Sure, Ron, no worries.”

“Ginny, can you share with Luna in your room? I figure we should put Hermione up in Bill’s old room.”

Hermione’s head popped up at hearing her name. She hesitated for a moment before replying softly “No, I think Luna should get Bill’s room since I won’t be here that long.”

Ron jumped up and almost yelled, “what? what are you talking about Hermione, what do you mean you won’t be here that long? Where are you going?”

Hermione gave Ron a sad smile and looked right at him and said, “I’m going to Australia to find my parents and restore their memories and bring them home. I leave in a week.”

Ron’s surprise was evident on his face. “But, but, umm, ah, what about us? One week isn’t a lot of time for us to get ready. Does it have to be so soon? Shouldn’t we wait a bit before we go?”

Hermione’s eyes were watering and tears were running down her cheeks as she looked down at Ron’s feet. “There is no us, Ron, there is no we. I have to go and I have to go alone. I made this mess by myself and I need to fix it by myself. My parents were wary of magic beforehand, now I know that after I’ve told them everything that’s happened they’ll be completely suspicious of anything and anyone magical. That’s why you can’t come. But I would like to talk with you later alone if that’s ok?”

Ron sat there flabbergasted along with everyone else. Harry was the first to speak. “Are you sure it’s safe? Don’t you want anyone to go with you? I’d feel a lot better if you had someone with you.”

“Kingsley tells me it’s safe, and I know I can take care of myself. We just need a week to get everything set with the Australian Ministry. Percy here is going to be a big help with all the logistics. Thanks again, Perce.”

Ron looked at Percy with malice in his eyes. “You’re going to help her with this madness? Are you crazy as well? How could you do this to me?”

Percy looked Ron square in the eye and replied with a firm voice. “It’s the right thing to do, so I’m glad to be helping out. You know it’s the right thing, Ron. Hermione will go take care of her parents and be back before you know it. You know it’s the right thing, so be supportive of her Ron. I’m sure she’ll need help with other things.”

Hermione said shyly, “yes, I’ll need your help Ron. Please.”

Ron walked over to where Hermione was sitting and pulled her up into a full hug. Wrapping his arms around her he whispered to her, “I was so looking forward to finally being with you, Hermione, like a real couple. I was hoping we could go out on real dates and act like teenagers for the first time, but I guess I’ll have to wait until you get back. I will miss you terribly while you’re gone.”


	2. They Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally they talk, but Ron finds himself on an unexpected path.

CHAPTER TWO

It was several days later that Ron and Hermione finally found some time to be alone and talk. They needed to talk about _the kiss_ , what they were together, where they even together? what were they going to do now? and how did they stay connected? Settling in at the Burrow, Fred’s funeral, dealing with all the well wishers and family, let alone their sheer exhaustion kept them from any time together and it was making Ron crazy. Hermione was busy getting ready to go see her parents and she seemed to be purposely avoiding Ron and becoming more and more withdrawn as if she were already distancing herself from the Ron and the Weasleys. Ron was confused by what was going on. Now that the war was over he thought that they could finally be together.

Ron woke up this morning realizing he only had two more days with Hermione before she left for Australia and he wasn’t going to wait anymore. After finishing breakfast with all the Weasleys, including Harry, Luna, and Hermione, Ron grabbed Hermione’s hand and as he stood up he announced to his mum and family that “he and Hermione were going for a walk.”

Hermione did not look pleased as she tried to wrench her hand away. “Ron, I don’t have time for a walk. I have too much to do before I go.”

Ron held firmly onto her hand and said quietly but sternly, “Consider this one of the tasks you need to complete before you go, because I’m not letting you go until we talk. I’m not waiting until you get back before we talk about a few things.”

Hermione visibly deflated and shrugged as she got up. “Ok, I suppose we do need to do this before I go, so let’s get this over with.”

Ron was slightly stunned by her reluctance and fatalistic attitude. Now he was more confused than ever. Ron led her out the back door into the garden.

As they left, Luna looked at both Harry and Ginny and asked, “Aren’t they together? I thought they had kissed during the last battle and had finally expressed their feelings, but it sure doesn’t seem like that now. I wonder if the wrackspurts are interfering with their brains right now?”

Harry just nodded and grimaced. “I thought so too, but now with her going to Australia without him, I don’t know what to think. Based on what I just saw, I think we need to be prepared for the worst from Ron when they get back. I think he always thought he’d go with her. So did I.”

As soon as they reached the garden Ron directed the two of them over to a bench. As they sat down he let go of Hermione’s hand and turned to face her.

“Hermione, why are you avoiding me and why don’t you want me to come with you. After our kiss during the battle, I thought we’d finally be together. Now I don’t know what’s going on. Do you regret kissing me, Hermione? It was the best kiss of my life and now I know I want more. I want to be with you Hermione, I want to be your boyfriend and do all the normal couple things that we’ve never had the chance. I lov..”

“Stop!” yelled Hermione as she put her hand over Ron’s mouth. “Don’t say that Ron, please don’t say that, please.”

Ron gently removed her hand. “Why shouldn’t I say that? It’s the truth and hopefully it’s not a surprise to you, why did you stop me?”

Hermione hung her head and with tears leaking from her eyes replied quietly, “because I can’t say it back, Ron. I can’t say it back.”

“So you do regret our kiss in the room of requirement then,” Ron said sadly as his eyes began to water.

“No, Ron, I don’t regret it. It was the best kiss of my life, too. But now that the war is over and we’re not just trying to survive everyday and I can finally relax just a bit and sleep through the night, and not worry about Harry, I don’t know what I feel. I’m worried that what I felt for you was just the result of not knowing if we were going to die and not knowing if there was a future. What if what we feel for each other is based only on being in a war and taking care of Harry?”

Ron replied with a bit of anger in his voice, “I won’t say those three words, but I’ve felt this about you ever since I woke up after being poisoned and you were there. I finally realized it when I saw your face looking down at me while I was lying there.”

“Ron, you don’t understand! Up to now, we were so focused on the mission and our world has been so narrow I couldn’t see outside the immediate here and now. I never allowed myself to think of the future. Now everything is wide open. I can go back to the Muggle world, I can study in University, I can go back to Hogwarts. There are so many possibilities I never allowed myself to ever dream about. I don’t know what I want to do or who I want to be. I don’t know what I feel. I don’t know what I feel about you, about Harry, about Victor, about who I am. I can’t say it back Ron because I don’t know what I feel, and I’m sorry.”

“Funny,” Ron said finally. “All I ever thought about during the war was being here with you at the Burrow, or at Hogwarts, or in our own home, or at our jobs at The Ministry. I thought about being together when we found your parents and bringing them home. No matter what I thought about, it was always us, together, forever. Us, and maybe Harry and Ginny. I understand that your future is wide open, Hermione, but I always thought it would include me. I guess I got that wrong, but damn it Hermione, I’m going to say it… I love you and I thought you loved me too and all I want is to be with you.”

Ron hung his head. Hermione sighed and sobbed. “I’m sorry, Ron, I wish I could say it too, but I can’t. I hope to someday, but right now I’m just confused. Hopefully after I find my parents I can figure it all out, and then when I come back we can see where we are. I hope you can wait for me?”

At this Ron looked up with anger and almost shouted, “wait for you? wait for you? You want me to sit here and wait for you to come back with Vicky? or some other guy? Wait? Wait for what? Wait for you to look around and find someone better than me? Or maybe wait for you to look around for a few years and for you to realize **_there is no one better than me_** and you expect me to just sit here and wait for a possibility??

Ron stood up and started to pace around. “I don’t think so, Hermione, I don’t think so.”

He then stopped and looked right at her. Pointing his finger at her he continued, “If you commit to me right here right now, sure I’ll wait, but if all you can give me is a maybe, a chance, a possibility that someday you’ll come back and want to be with me, it’s not going to happen. You say you need to go live your life, fine, but I’m going to live mine as well, and maybe someday we can see each other again and maybe we’ll be friends, but I’m not going to just sit around and pine for the day you might cast me a glance.”

Ron’s face was nearly as red as his hair as he finished. Hermione sat there speechless and shocked.

Ron turned and started back into the house. After a few steps he stopped and looked back with sadness and tears as Hermione still sat there seemingly paralyzed by Ron’s outburst.

Softly he said, “I hope you find your family and that you have a nice life. From now on, I’ll be proud to say that Hermione Granger was someone that I used to know. Bye, Hermione.”

Ron walked sadly into the house and up to his room. No one saw him again until the day after Hermione left for Australia.


	3. Starting on the path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron comes home and starts down that unexpected path

CHAPTER THREE

Ron walked slowly and quietly down the stairs from his room knowing that his mum was just waiting to unload on him. He’d spent the last couple days at George’s place, not being able to be in the same place as Hermione knowing now that she didn’t love him like he loved her. Unfortunately, he had failed to notify anyone that he was going to apparate to the flat just above Wheezes directly from his room. He was glad George had thought to floo call his family to let them know where Ron was.

Ron realized that even though he hadn’t seen her for only 3 days, he missed Hermione. He didn’t want to and he tried not to, but he knew that he missed her and would probably never get to speak to her again. That, and the heartbreak had Ron feeling terribly depressed.

He made it to the kitchen, knowing that everybody had already had breakfast and had started their days with the exception of Luna. Luna looked up at Ron and gave him a small smile and said, “good morning, Ronald, it is good to see you home.”

Ron looked over and mumbled, “Thanks, Luna.”

Heading into the kitchen, Ron raised his hands in surrender and looked his mother in the eyes.

“I’m sorry mum, I’m sorry I left so suddenly, but I just couldn’t stay in the same house as her. She ripped out my heart and stomped on it. I panicked and just had to leave, it would have been too hard to just be around her after telling her I loved her and hearing her tell me she didn’t feel that way. I know I should have let someone know, and I’m glad George did, but I really feel like crap so, can I just say I’m sorry and you can yell at me another time?”

His mum looked at him with compassionate eyes, recognizing how devastated he was. “Alright Ronnie, I don’t need to add to your misery by yelling. I know this was completely unexpected, especially since you and Hermione seemed so close right after the battle, so I accept your apology.”

Ron gave a small smile for the first time in forever it seemed and said, “thanks, mum” as he sat down next to Luna.

“It’s not too late to get some breakfast is it?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course not, Ronnie, Luna suggested I save you a plate” as she pulled a plate of eggs, sausage, bacon and potatoes out of the warming bin and placed in front of him.

“thanks again, mum.”

As Ron ate he glanced at Luna and asked, “so, Luna, are you doing ok?”

“I’m ok, but I’ve been sad for you and Hermione. You two were such good friends it’s sad you aren’t anymore. I’ve been chasing away the wrackspurts and the garden gnomes. I did manage to track down my father. After our house was wiped out he moved to live with a distant cousin in America. I do wish he would have told me, but he said he sent some owls, but they never found me. Now I’m also sad that I don’t have a home anymore, but your family has been wonderful for letting me stay here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about you dad and your house.”

“Thank you. I’m sure something will work out, it always does. I also have been trying to give Harry and Ginny some space for them to get reacquainted and to rebuild their relationship. Both seem very interested in getting back together, but they have some things to talk about and I think it best if I let them do that on their own. I’ve also been taking walks by myself around the orchard and to the pond. Now that you’re back, maybe you could join me. I find walks very therapeutic when I’m not feeling good about something, or somebody, or even myself. It might be helpful for you.”

Ron looked skeptical for a moment and then sort of realized that it would be true. He was sure he wanted to do anything, but he knew that he should.

“That sounds like a good idea, Luna. I’d like that, but right now, I’m feeling really bad about how I left it with Hermione. I basically told her I wasn’t her friend anymore and walked away and now I hope that it isn’t true. I was just so hurt by her rejection that I just blurted it out like an idiot. I’ve had time over the last couple days to realize that even if she doesn’t love me, I still want to be her friend. We’ve gone through so much together I’d hate to lose that. It will be hard to see her again, but I think I’ll be mature enough to get through it. I just don’t know what to do, now that she’s off to Australia.”

Luna looked up for a moment and then smiled at Ron. “You could write her a letter and then have someone take it to the ministry. They have international post that could work to get a letter to her in Australia.”

“Huh, I never thought of that. Thanks Luna, that sounds like a plan.” But then Ron’s countenance fell again. “You know I’m not that good a writer and I’ll probably mess it up somehow even if I do it.”

“You’ll be fine,” replied Luna. “Besides, I can help if you want?”

Ron couldn’t help himself as he reached over and hugged Luna. “Oh, Luna, that’d be brilliant. I’d love your help.”

Luna conjured up some parchment, ink and a quill and they sat there as they composed a letter to Hermione. Luna did a lot of listening to Ron’s emotions and feelings and helping him put those down on parchment. At times Ron was sad, sometimes angry, sometimes hopeful, but Luna stayed through it all with him and after a couple hours they were finished. Basically it was an apology for just walking away and a request to remain friends and a wish for her to find her family and to be happy. Reluctantly Ron also included some words about her finding the love she deserved whoever that may be. Ron wasn’t sure how to end it so he looked at Luna and asked, “how do I sign it? Do I say love, or your friend, or sincerely, or what?”

Luna looked at him with compassion and asked, “do you still love her? If you do, you should say love. If you’re not sure, you should say your friend.”

Ron had to think for a moment. Did he still love her even though she didn’t love him back? He wanted to still love her. He had thought he’d loved her since 4th year when he thought she might love him back. He looked at Luna and said quietly, “I don’t know.”

“Then I would write ‘your best friend, Ron’ and be done. It’s a good letter Ronald.”

Ron rolled it up and addressed it to Hermione Granger – Australia and put it on the shelf to give to his father to take to the Ministry tomorrow. He stood and stretched and realized that they’d been sitting for over 3 hours.

He looked down at Luna and held out his hand to her. “Hey, we’ve been sitting too long, we need to go outside and move around some. Where can we go where we won’t have to see my best friend snogging my sister?”

“Harry and Ginny spend a lot of time on their brooms playing Quidditch.”

“Ok, so flying is off the table for now. How about we do one of your walks to the pond?”

For the rest of the summer Ron and Luna spent most of their time together. They’d hang out with Harry and Ginny, but a lot of their free time was spent walking, at the pond, or in the orchard, or garden. They spent a lot of time talking about the war and what they’d been through. They talked about growing up and being an only child versus growing up with a big family. Luna mentioned that sometimes she imagined magical creatures just so she’d have someone to talk to and play with. They talked about their hopes and dreams. Ron talked a bit about Hermione and Luna chatted some about Neville and how they both found themselves single and that was ok.

They’d get on their brooms whenever the Quidditch pitch was available although Luna wasn’t much of a Quidditch player, but with Ron’s help and encouragement she became much more comfortable on a broom. Luna’s favorite time on a broom was when she and Ron would share his broom and fly off on an occasional picnic and she rode behind him and got to wrap her arms around him.

At night they’d play gobstones or exploding snap, but Ron especially enjoyed teaching Luna to play chess. She had yet to beat him, or realistically to even come close to beating him, but they enjoyed just being there together. Sometimes they just sat next to each other and read. Ron usually chose something related to Quidditch, Luna was always reading something about nature or animals. A couple times Luna had been able to lay her head down on Ron’s lap as she read.

Ron received a letter back from Hermione thanking him for the apology, saying how grateful she was they would still be friends. She had found her family and restored their memories, now she was working on restoring their relationship. She told Ron that she treasured all of their time together and was now realizing how much she missed him. She didn’t know how long she would be in Australia, but it seemed her parents wanted to stay and not come back to the UK. Hermione encouraged Ron to write back and share what he was doing for the summer and what plans he had for the fall and that she hoped to see him soon.

One evening in mid August when Luna had her head in Ron’s lap, Ron wondered at how comfortable he had gotten with Luna and how much better he knew her now. He knew that she was lonely as a child and that that had led to some of her quirkiness. Ron appreciated her imagination and kicked himself for ever referring to her as ‘Loony’.

This evening, Ron looked down at her and asked, “hey Lu, what are you going to do this fall? Are you going back to school? You should be getting your Hogwarts letter any day now.”

“Luna dropped her book and looked up surprised. “Lu? Who is this Lu person? I don’t know anyone named Lu.”

Ron looked at her with a sheepish smile, “uh, sorry, it’s just what I call you in my head and it kinda slipped out. I guess it’s just a nickname I made up. Sorry, I won’t call you that anymore.”

Luna smiled and blushed a bit then grabbed Ron’s hands and said, “no, I think it’s wonderful that you have a nickname for me, it’s ok. I don’t think I want everyone to call me Lu, but I’m glad that you do. It’s sort of fun to have a secret name.”

“Ok, cool. Anyway, whatcha got planned for fall?”

“I’m going back to Hogwarts and sit for my NEWTS. I figure it will be good to finish school while I figure out what comes after.”

Still holding onto his hands, she asked quietly, “are you going to the Aurors? The thought of you and Harry out fighting more dark wizards sorta scares me.”

“Harry and I start training September 1 and go for six months until we graduate on March 1, but don’t worry, Harry and I will watch out for each other and we’ll be ok. By the time you graduate from Hogwarts, Harry and I will be working Aurors.”

That night Ron woke up suddenly to what sounded like screaming coming from across the hall. Jumping up and grabbing his wand, he ran to the source of the noise. He opened the door to Luna’s room and saw her in the bed screaming and thrashing about. But her eyes were closed.

“Luna, Luna, you’re having a nightmare, wake up!” Ron said as he sat down next to her on the bed and attempted to place his hands on her shoulders. She was moving too quickly for him to really grab on so he laid down next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him all the while saying calmly, “Luna, Lu, it’s ok, I’m here, you’re safe, it’s ok, Luna, Luna, wake up.”

It was hard to hang onto to her at first, but Ron’s arms and calming words finally began to take affect as she calmed down and started crying instead of screaming. Ron found that Luna had put her arms around him as well and sobbed into his chest. After a few minutes the sobbing stopped and Luna just whimpered into his chest.

The rest of the Weasleys arrived outside her room and were clamoring about what was going on. Ron looked up at everyone and calmly said, “It’s ok, I’ve got her and it will be ok. I’ll take care of her, just everyone calm down and let me deal with this, ok?

Seeing that things were relatively under control they all left except for Molly who remained behind in the hall.

Ron turned back to Luna and asked quietly “Lu, Lu, are you ok? Are you awake? Are you ok?”

Luna sniffed hard and lifted her head to look at Ron. “I’m ok I think, Ronald. I think I’m ok. Just a nightmare, I guess, but it was so real and so terrible.” With that she hiccupped and buried her face in Ron’s chest again.

Ron looked at his watch as saw it was 2:15 in the morning. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.

“No, I just need you to hold me, please.“

“Ok, give me a sec,” Ron said gently as he got up. He looked up at his mom and said, “don’t worry, I’ll be a gentleman, but she needs me right now, ok?”

Molly reluctantly nodded and headed back to bed.

Ron then lay down next to Luna and climbed under the covers on his back next to her. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his right side and whispered to her, “is this all right? Do you feel ok?”

Luna just snuggled into Ron with her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest and mumbled, “hmmmm, yes, thank you Ronald, please don’t leave,” as she slowly drifted back to sleep.

Ron wondered at how good it felt to have Luna snuggled up next to him. She was soft and warm and she was present. He thought briefly of the times he had had to comfort Hermione after nightmares, but rapidly pushed those thoughts away thinking ‘those days are gone,’ and instead treasured the pretty blonde there with him. He gently kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes and slipped back into sleep content with Luna right there.

The next morning Ron woke slowly and realized that he was still in bed with Luna with her back up to his chest with his arms around her. Ron always loved being the big spoon with Hermione, and he found Luna to be quite comfortable in his arms as well. He’d always thought Luna was pretty, but never had recognized what a slim, trim figure she had. His left arm was wrapped over the curve of her waist and his hand rested on her flat stomach. Somehow it had slipped underneath her sleep shirt and he couldn’t help but slowly caress her. He slowly pulled her tight against him with his right arm and nuzzled her hair as she slept. Ron gave a contented sigh and drifted back to sleep.


	4. First steps on the path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron finds a way to help Luna

CHAPTER FOUR

Luna woke slowly, not quite sure about where she was. She knew she had gone to sleep in Bill Weasley’s old room, but the presence behind her and the arms around her were somewhat unknown, even though she relished how warm and contented she felt. She realized that she hadn’t slept so well in quite some time and was also surprised at how well she fit with the person behind her. It was almost as if they were meant to be together like this.

As she gained consciousness and opened her eyes she rolled slightly and looked over her left shoulder. She recognized the sleeping form of Ron and for a moment felt quite guilty for being where she thought Hermione should be. Then she remembered the nightmare and how wonderfully he had comforted her and how sweet he had been to her when she asked him to stay. It had been quite a while since anyone had held her like this and she was reluctant to have it end as she felt so at peace right here and right now. She knew he would want to hear what happened so she resolved to herself to share her nightmare with him when he woke up.

While she lay there in comfort she thought back over the past weeks. She and Ron and become quite close since Hermione left. They had spent a lot of time together, and she thought that they had become much better friends, but she wasn’t sure what was really going on between them. Luna had always considered Ron attractive and she did have a crush on him back years ago. What was she feeling now? What was Ron feeling? Had Ron moved on from Hermione already? What would happen when Hermione came back? The one thing she was sure of, however, is that being here in Ron’s arms certainly felt wonderful. She also knew that in about 2 weeks she and Ginny would be heading back to Hogwarts while Ron and Harry headed off to Auror training and she wouldn’t see Ron for a while, probably not until Christmas.

She felt Ron stir behind her and heard him give a small gasp of surprise as he started to wake up and he realized where he was and who he was with. She felt his arms around her loosen up as he mumbled, “oh, um, ahh sorry Luna ah, um, I’ll get up now, ok?”

Luna rolled over so she was looking right at Ron and she grabbed onto his arms as he tried to extricate himself from holding her so intimately. “No, Ron, stay, please, please. You made me feel so safe last night and I’m not ready to get up yet. Stay please?”

Ron settled back down and kept his right arm under Luna’s neck and his left hand casually on her waist while he looked at her quizzically. “S.. s.. sure Lu, whatever you need. Are you ok? Did you sleep ok? Do you want to talk about your nightmare?” Ron felt a bit funny holding Lu like this and thought briefly about Hermione, but then he looked up with concern into Luna’s silvery eyes. He realized he had never noticed before what beautiful eyes she had, only now those eyes had just of bit of fear in them as he watched her close them tightly.

“It’s pretty much the same nightmare I always have. I was back at Malfoy Manor with Mr. Ollivander only you and Harry and Dobby never came for us and they tortured us all and it was always dark, always dark, so dark I felt like I’d never see the sun again…. it was awful.” As she finished, she opened her eyes and said softly, “I’ve never had anyone to comfort me when I have nightmares before so thank you Ron for being here and staying with me. I can honestly say I haven’t slept this well in a long, long time.”

Ron pulled Luna tightly to himself and whispered into her hair, “oh, Lu, I am so sorry you’ve had to go through these by yourself. Why didn’t you tell me you were having nightmares and why have I never heard you before? We’ve become good friends over the summer and you should have let me help. That’s what friends do.”

Luna looked up sheepishly and said, “I usually put up silencing charms before I go to sleep, so I don’t disturb anyone. I guess I just forgot last night. I’m so embarrassed I woke everyone up.”

“Ok then, it’s sorted. No more silencing charms and I, uh, um, uh, my family will be here for you. You need help or have another nightmare I’ll be there, don’t worry.”

Ron let go of Lu and crawled out from the covers as he blushed a bit noticing he was just wearing his boxers. He walked toward the door but stopped when he heard Luna again.

“Thank you, Ronald. I do hope that it wasn’t too awkward, I mean, you know, me not being Hermione and all. I’m sure you miss her, and I wonder if she would be here in my place if she hadn’t gone to Australia. Everyone thought you’d be together and I hope you’re ok, but I am really grateful for the comfort last night. We all expect you to be a couple when she comes back.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Lu. I got a letter from her couple days ago that says she’s not coming back to go to Hogwarts with you and Ginny. She says her parents are staying in Australia and they still want her around. She said that McGonagall had arranged for her study at a school in Sydney and that she can come to Hogwarts in May to sit for her NEWTS.”

Ron took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing, “So I don’t think I’ll see her until then, and that’s a long time to be apart. I have no confidence that even when she does come back she’d want to be with me, so I don’t know what’s going to happen, it’s definitely not what I had hoped for, but who knows, maybe it’s for the best.”

Luna gave Ron a concerned but hopeful look. “Well, we have two more weeks to be together with Harry and Ginny before you start Auror training and I go back to Hogwarts. I hope I can help you feel better just like you helped me. I’m glad we’ve become much better friends Ron, and don’t take this wrong, but I’m glad Hermione’s not here so that you can spend time with me. I hope you don’t think me selfish,” she said looking down.

“No, Lu, not at all. It has been pretty great getting to know you more too. You’ve made the last couple months so much better.” Ron gave Lu a big smile and headed toward his room.

The next two days passed as they had all summer, with Ron and Luna spending time together, and with Harry and Ginny, only the nights were all repeats of the prior with Luna waking everyone up with her nightmares. As before, Luna insisted that Ron stay with her and Ron was happy to help. 

After three straight nights of being woken in the middle of the night, Ron knew something had to change. He could see the impact the nightmares were having on Luna. After breakfast that third morning Ron approached his mum in the kitchen as she was cleaning up. “Mum, I’m worried about Luna. She’s having nightmares every night and it’s not good for her. I’d like to try something, but I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

“What are you thinking Ronnie? Dreamless sleep potion could help, but it’s so dangerous to take very often.”

“Yeah, I was thinking something different. You know how she always calms down when I put my arms around her and hold her. She always goes right back to sleep and never has anymore problems after when I am with her.”

“Ok,” replied Molly with a bit of hesitation in her voice. “I think I know what you’re suggesting, but do you think it’s appropriate?”

“I think that having Lu start the night with me in my bed will help prevent her nightmares. My bed is a lot bigger so we’d have some space between us. She’s just a friend mum, but she could really use a peaceful night. If it doesn’t work and she still has a nightmare, we can try something else.”

“What does Luna think about this?”

“I wanted to get your permission before I talked to her since this is your house and your rules. Would it be ok if we tried tonight? She’s had three tough nights in a row and I want to help her.”

“Ok, Ronnie, I’m ok with trying it tonight, but I’m trusting you to behave. No silencing or locking charms on your room. You need to get her to agree and to make sure that Harry and Ginny don’t get the same ideas.”

“Thanks, mum,” Ron said and he gave Molly a hug. “I really think this will help.”

After dinner that night, Ron sat with Luna playing chess while Ginny and Harry talked Quidditch strategy. Ginny had been named Quidditch captain. Ron looked up from the board and said quietly, “Hey guys, can I talk to you about something?”

The three replied, “sure, what’s up.” Ron explained about his idea and Luna’s nightmares. He said that his mum had said it was ok, but he wanted their ok as well. Ron was worried about how Harry and Ginny would react since Molly had made it clear that they weren’t to mirror Ron and Luna’s sleeping arrangements. Luna was first to reply that she was hopeful that sleeping next to Ron would be helpful.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and whispered back and forth for a while before Harry looked at Ron and said, “We understand and support you in this, but wish that we got the same deal. I think we all would benefit for a night of uninterrupted sleep, so I hope this works.”

Later that night, Ron crawled into bed and as he waited for Luna he thought about what Hermione would think about all this if she were here. Ron felt a bit guilty, but was pretty sure he wasn’t going to write about it in his next letter to her, and at the same time he wondered if she had anyone in her bed. After all, they weren’t a couple and had no claims on each other, and Lu was just a friend. At least so far she was just a friend.

Luna smiled as she climbed into Ron’s bed and snuggled into his right side. Ron’s right arm instinctively wrapped around her as she laid her head onto his shoulder. Luna placed her right hand on Ron’s chest and whispered quietly, “thank you Ron for thinking about me and wanting to help. I know this must seem a bit awkward, but I’ve really become accustomed to sleeping next to you the past three nights and it has given me great comfort. I’m sure that there won’t be any nightmare tonight because I feel so safe here with you. I know you’d probably prefer I was Hermione, but thank you Ronald.”

“No Lu,” replied Ron just as quietly as he gently kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad to be here with you. Good night Lu and pleasant dreams.”

“Oh, I hope so, good night Ronald.”

They lay there for several minutes in silence, but Ron knew Luna wasn’t asleep. He whispered, “are you ok Lu? Are you not able to sleep? Are you uncomfortable being here?”

Luna didn’t answer for a moment, so Ron thought he must have been mistaken when he heard Luna respond softly, “I’m awake still because my head is full of so many thoughts and I’m not quite sure what to feel right now.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Ronald, do you miss Hermione? Back before she left you said you loved her, do you still love her? Do you want her here instead of me?”

“Of course I miss Hermione, we’ve been best friends since first year and I thought we’d be together. I did tell her I loved her, but now I’m not so sure. It’s hard to love someone that has rejected you, even if they say there’s a chance they’ll come back. So like before I’ll tell you that I’m glad to be here with you, especially if it helps you sleep without nightmares. I’ve become quite fond of you Lu now that I’ve gotten to know you better, I’m so glad we’ve become better friends.”

Luna sat up just a bit and looked Ron right in his eyes as she said, “then it’s ok if I do this?” and she kissed him on his lips and wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. At first Ron was shocked into stillness, but quickly responded and kissed back hard. He opened his mouth as she did the same and they both deepened the kiss.

The kiss developed into a full-blown snog and they both pulled each other closer. Ron loved the feel of Luna’s soft breasts against his chest, and Luna reveled in the feeling of Ron’s erection pressed against her core. His hands were in her hair and hers ran up and down Ron’s sides. They finally broke apart and stared at each other as if they couldn’t believe what they had just been doing, but then Ron smiled and Luna murmured, “it’s ok then,” as their lips crashed together again. Ron’s hands left her hair and started skimming along her side underneath her sleepshirt. He loved the feel of her curvy waist and the softness of her skin as his hands traveled up to the side of her breast. He marveled at the soft swell of her and slid his hand down and caressed her soft and amazing backside and then pulled her tighter against him.

Reality crashed into Ron and he realized that they could rapidly get to a place that would betray his promise to his mom. He reluctantly pulled away and looked into Luna’s beautiful silvery eyes and said softly, “I’m sorry, Lu, but we need to stop. I loved kissing you and feeling you next to me, but I don’t think my mum would let us be in my bed together if she knew we were doing this.”

Luna blushed a bit and looked back at Ron, “I know, you’re right, we need to stop, but I’ve been wanting to do that for a month now and I just couldn’t help myself. You’re an easy man to love, Ronald Weasley and I think I might be doing that right now. I know we should sleep now, and I’ll be able to because my brain has settled down and now I know what I’m feeling. I feel quite content and at peace now. Thank you Ronald.”

With that said, Luna rolled over away from Ron and lay there peacefully with her back toward him.

Ron stared up at the ceiling and wondered to himself, ‘wow, that was unexpected.’


	5. Embracing the Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron firmly embraces his new and unexpected path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning -- this is where the E rating kicks in...

_Previously in chapter four:_

_With that said, Luna rolled over away from Ron and lay there peacefully with her back toward him._

_Ron stared up at the ceiling and wondered to himself, ‘wow, that was unexpected.’_

CHAPTER FIVE

Ron hesitated just a second before rolling to his right so that his chest was right up against Luna’s back. He snuck his arm under her neck and wrapped it around her. He pulled her tight against him and placed his left arm over her waist and rested his hand on her flat delicious tummy. He nuzzled her silky blonde hair and whispered, “just because we have to stop, doesn’t mean I can’t hold you. I want you to feel safe tonight Lu, is this ok?”

Luna looked back over her shoulder and snuggled back into Ron as best she could and sighed, “this is wonderful. I feel safe and warm and quite content. I know the nightmares won’t return tonight.”

Ron rested his head on the pillow and continued, “I know you leave for Hogwarts in two weeks and I go off to Auror training, but I’d like to continue to see you Lu. I’m not quite sure what I’m feeling, but I love being with you and you’re really good for me. You’ve been so kind to me since Hermione left and I’d like to see where we could go together. Like you said, you’re an easy woman to love, Luna Lovegood and I’m not sure we’re at the boyfriend/girlfriend stage yet, but I hope I can see you when I have breaks or maybe Hogsmeade weekends and we can see. What do you think?”

Luna melted even more into Ron and replied sleepily, “I’d like that very much.”

___________&&____________

The nightmares did not return that night and they didn’t for the last two weeks of summer holiday. Ron and Luna still shared Ron’s bed, but they had yet to repeat the furious snogging session of that first night. They were however more affectionate with each other, even occasionally sharing a chaste kiss while with Harry and Ginny. Ron and Luna tried hard to explain to the couple that they weren’t officially boyfriend girlfriend yet but were seeing where things went.

Needless to say, Harry and Ginny were quite confused, especially Harry. When he had the chance he asked Ron, “hey mate, what’s going on with Luna and what about Hermione? What are you going to do when she comes back?”

All Ron could say was, “I don’t know if Hermione is coming back. Our letters are getting fewer and farther apart. I haven’t heard back from my last letter two weeks ago and I don’t know what her plans are.”

Harry looked Ron in the eye and said sternly, “have you told Hermione about how well you and Luna are getting along? Does she know about Luna’s nightmares and that you two sleep in the same bed?”

“I told her about the nightmares, but not the sleeping part.”

“So are you and Luna together?”

“I don’t know but we’ll see. I am quite fond of Lu though and will miss her when she’s at Hogwarts.”

_____________&&____________

It was the last night before Luna left for school and Ron left for Auror training camp. They were both snuggled up in Ron’s bed as usual with Luna’s head on his chest and his arm around her shoulders. They chatted about how much they were going to miss each other and they promised to owl as often as they could. Luna hoped that she’d be able to sleep without Ron and that the nightmares wouldn’t return. Luna rolled over onto her tummy and rose up on her elbows to look right at Ron.

“Ron?” she asked timidly. “Would you do something for me?”

Ron was a bit puzzled but replied quickly, “of course. What do you need?”

Luna looked down shyly and replied, “remember how our first night you made us stop before we got carried away?”

Ron smiled as said, “yeah, hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, why?”

“Would you kiss me like that again? Please?”

Ron was a bit shocked and replied quietly, “are you sure?”

Luna reached over to the nightstand for her wand and responded with a “yes” as she cast locking and silencing charms over the room. She winked at Ron and said, “it’s our last night and your mum doesn’t need to know.”

Ron raised his eyebrows in surprise but then put his hands on Luna’s shoulders and rolled her onto her back. He loved the way her beautiful blonde hair splayed out around her head. Leaning over he reached his right hand under her head and into her hair and kissed her softly and tenderly, loving the feel of her soft lips against his. After a time of soft kisses he could feel Lu’s hand wrap around his neck and pull him into her with greater passion.

A soft “hmmmm” came from her as Ron deepened the kiss and plunged his tongue into her waiting mouth. Ron relished the closeness and the passion he felt from her. Their tongues strove to convey the intensity of their feelings for one another. As they continued to snog, Ron’s used his left hand to lightly caress her, running his hand along her soft but firm body underneath her sleepshirt, from the waistband of her knickers to just under her soft breasts. Luna pulled him even tighter as they continued to snog.

Ron broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. “Do you want to stop, Lu? I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to. I love kissing you and am happy to just keep things at that.”

“Oh Ron, this is our last night together, please don’t stop. I love how you’ve taken care of me and I love being here with you.”

With that, Ron moved to her neck and her jawline, peppering her with soft touches of his lips. He found a special spot just below her ear that seemed to elicit even more gasps and sighs from her. Meanwhile his left hand had moved up and was now holding and gently squeezing her soft breast. He ran his fingertips over her soft nipple and felt it harden as she gasped, “Oh Ron.”

Emboldened by her sighs and moans, Ron continued his journey down her body, leaving kisses on her shoulder and collarbones. He stopped to push up her sleepshirt so that her breasts and beautiful peach colored nipples were now visible. “Merlin’s beard, Lu, you’re gorgeous, truly gorgeous.” Ron reached underneath and pulled her shirt over her head. With no more obstructions he placed his lips on her left nipple and worshiped it with his tongue as Luna moaned even more. She ran her hands up and down Ron’s back cried “oh, Ronald, more, more!” Ron moved and placed equal adoration to her right breast as his left hand continued to caress her body, moving down to her knickers.

As he slid his hand just into her knickers, Ron looked up again and asked quietly, “ok?”

“Hmmmm, yes, oh yes, yes please Ronald.”

Ron slid his hand down to her mound, finding her slit with his middle finger. He lightly caressed her vaginal lips before sliding in to find her bundle of nerves. He slowly circled her clit, being careful not to give too much stimulation too soon. Slowly he circled in, listening to her breathing become faster and shallower and for her sighs and moans. Luna felt her body to begin to sing as her arousal grew. He slid his hand further down and now used his thumb to massage her clitoris as his finger was now at her opening. Bending his hand just so he slid one finger in, all the while sucking on her right breast. Luna gave a gasp and an “oh!” as Ron felt her hips begin to rock slowly against his hand. He increased the stimulation to her clit and slid in a second finger into her soft vagina, curling both fingers against her.

Luna’s hips increased their movement and all Ron could hear was Luna panting, “oh, oh, oh, oh” as he continued to work her body. Ron was never more grateful to have older brothers that had been willing to teach him about women than he was right now. Luna couldn’t stop the wave from cresting as Ron gave one final thrust of his fingers inside her as she grasped his head, mashing him into her breast as her orgasm overtook her and she cried, “Oh, Ronnnnnnn!”

Ron continued to stroke her until her orgasm was over and then moved his hand to gently stroke her inner thighs. His brothers had taught him that women were overly sensitive immediately after climaxing and he wanted Luna to be comfortable coming down from her high. He lifted his head and kissed her while moving his left hand to back to her stomach. Luna gave Ron the biggest grin he’d seen as she sighed, “oh Ronald, that was wonderful, you make me feel so good. Now I want you Ron, I want you inside me. I want to give you the same pleasure you’ve given me. Please Ron, please.”

Ron looked at Luna and softly said, “patience my love, patience,” as he once again began travelling down her body, leaving kisses as he went only this time he didn’t stop at her breasts. Luna marveled at his spoken endearment. After kissing both nipples he continued down until he was kissing her stomach and belly button. His hands reached down and slowly slid her sleep shorts and knickers down her long and smooth legs as his mouth continued southward.

He paused for a moment and reveled in the fact that Lu was a natural blonde and nuzzled the soft hairs. His mouth continued downward toward his goal and Luna soon realized his intentions. She leaned up and said, “Oh Ron, you don’t need to do that, I’m ready for you now.”

Ron relied, “Oh no, Luna, I want to do this, I’ve dreamed of doing this with you. Lean back and let me love you a bit more,” as he placed his mouth on her pink core. He lightly swirled his tongue around her clit as Luna leaned back and gasped, “Oh my, that is wonderful, oh, oh, oh please don’t stop.”

Putting two fingers back inside her Ron continued his ministrations on her most sensitive spot. Her hips again began rocking and Ron timed the thrusting of his fingers to match her movements. Luna began panting again and she felt as if she were going to explode when Ron began sucking directly on her clit. Soon she took her hands and pulled Ron against her as her orgasm again crashed over her and she was left breathless. She finally found her voice and cried out, “oh Ron, that was incredible, I’ve never come so hard before. Oh Ron!”

After settling down just a bit, Luna pulled Ron up for a searing kiss. “I want you Ron, I want you right now, please, please Ron.”

Ron looked deep into her sparkly eyes and asked tenderly, “are you sure, Lu? I’ve never gone this far before.”

“Neither have I, Ron, and I want you to be my first. Please love me, Ronald, just be gentle.”

Ron quickly pushed off his boxers. “Do you know the charm?” he asked. “Oh yes, I took care of that already.” Ron smiled to himself and then positioned himself at her entrance. “Guide me in, Lu, and tell me when to stop.”

Luna wrapped her hand around his hard cock and guided him into her. “Slowly, Ron, go slow.”

Ron reveled in the feeling of her warmth and softness surrounding him. It was hard for him not to just thrust in, but he moved slowly into her. When he felt some resistance he stopped even before Lu asked him to.  
  


“Oh Ron you feel so good. Now just hold on for a bit.” Luna had never felt so loved as she did right now with Ron inside her. He felt so big and it took a bit for her body to adjust to him.

Ron waited what seemed like forever before Luna said, “ok Ron, you can move now.” Ron drove his hips forward and felt himself slide into her depths. He had never felt anything like the wonder of Luna’s softness and warmth. He stilled himself and looked at Lu with questions in his eyes.

After a minute she said, “oh Ron, you can move, please move, you seem so big and you fill me up. Please Ron, please move and love me.”

Ron kissed her deeply and then slowly pulled out and then began a rhythmic thrusting in and out of her. Sometimes he went deep and slow, other times were shallow and fast, all the while kissing her and looking directly into her eyes. He broke the kiss to ask, “Are you ok?” Luna responded with a “oh yes, this feels good and is getting better.” Soon Ron could hear Luna panting again and he could feel her hips rocking back against him and he realized that she was getting close. He reached down with his hand and found her clit again and his thrusting became faster and more erratic.

“Oh Lu, you feel so good, I’m close, I’m close, come with me Lu, come with me.” As he started over the edge he heard Lu cry, “Ronnie I’m coming, I’m coming” and he felt her soft walls clench around him as he let out a loud, “Luuuuuuunnnna!” and then collapsed on top of her. After a moment spent catching his breath, Ron rolled off her and gave her another deep kiss. He then took his hand and caressed her cheek while smiling broadly at her.

“Oh Lu, you’re wonderful, that was amazing, amazing, thank you, thank you.”

“No Ron, you were amazing, I have never felt this good before, or so loved, thank you.”

Ron leaned down to kiss her again and noticed there were tears forming in her eyes. “Oh Lu, are you all right? Did I hurt you, why are you crying?”

“I’m crying because I love you, Ronald Weasley, and now we won’t see each other for months. I don’t know what I’m going to do without seeing you every day and sleeping next to you every night.”

Ron reached over and took her into his arms and held her tightly against him. “Oh Lu, I love you too. I wasn’t sure at first, and I’ve been trying not to because I don’t want this to seem like a rebound relationship, but over the last two weeks I’ve realized that I love you. You’re so kind and caring and peaceful and you like me just as I am. Maybe Hermione was right, that she and I were together only because of the war. I only know that it feels so good just to be with you and I’m going to miss you terribly.”

“Oh Ronald, what are we going to do?”

“Well the first thing is I’m going to ask if you’d be my girlfriend. I want everyone to know that you’re with me before you head back to Hogwarts. I want to call you my girlfriend because I sure want to be your boyfriend. Would that be ok?”

“Of course,” Luna said with a watery smile. “I would like that very much.”

“And then we’re going to write each other as much as we can and see each other as often as we can and then at Christmas we’ll spend all our time together. And then I’ll finish the Auror Academy and you’ll graduate Hogwarts and we’ll both have jobs and we’ll see where we are. But right now, we’re going to go to sleep so we’re ready for our busy day tomorrow.”

Ron rolled onto his back and pulled Luna into his side. She snuggled into his chest while Ron wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight. “You’re amazing, Luna Lovegood and I love you. Good night, Lu.”

“Mmmm, Ronald, this feels so nice, so nice, good night.”

________ & _________

The next morning there was a letter to Ron from Hermione, but he chose to ignore it until after he’d seen Luna off to Hogwarts. Harry and his portkey to the Auror training camp didn’t depart until 5 pm so he’d have time to read it later.

After all the preparations were complete, Ron and Luna stood on Platform 9 ¾ holding each other. Luna was quietly weeping, and Ron’s eyes were wet as well. They kissed each other tenderly and promised to write and Ron promised to be at every Hogsmeade weekend he could. He hoped to maybe even come see his sister play Quidditch.

Harry and Ginny were saying their own good byes but couldn’t help but notice Ron and Luna. Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise, but Ginny calmed his questions with a quick kiss. She whispered to him, “she’s been really good for him, and he’s been really good for her. I don’t know what will happen if Hermione ever comes back, but right now Ron and Luna look like they were made for each other.”

Harry nodded and replied, “yeah, Ron’s been so much more mellow with Luna than he ever was with Hermione. He seems so much more peaceful and mature, and even Luna seems so much more present here in reality. I do wonder what Hermione might think if she knew, but that’s Ron’s place to tell her.”

Having put off the inevitable for as long as possible, Ginny and Luna climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express and waved goodbye to the boys. Harry looked at Ron and asked quietly, “So, you and Luna seem to be together, I presume?”

Ron looked sadly at Harry and replied softly, “yeah, these last two weeks have been awesome and I really tried not to, but I couldn’t help but fall hard for her. I realized that we’re really good together, and it’s wonderful to be with a girl that I’m not always bickering with. Luna knows who I am and likes me just this way, and it’s amazing. It will as hard for me to be away from her as it will be for you to be apart from Ginny, and I hope to see her soon.”

“What are you going to tell Hermione?”

Ron looked thoughtful for a moment and replied with a smirk, “we’ll cross that bridge if we ever get there.” And then they apparated back to the Burrow.


	6. Moving forward on the path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron reads Hermione's letter and sends a reply.

CHAPTER SIX

Returning to the Burrow, Harry reminded Ron of the letter he had received from Hermione. “Hey mate, don’t you think you should read that before we head out to start Auror training?”

“Oh yeah, good idea. Seeing Lu off this morning kinda made me forget about it. Curious to get a letter now, just before we leave, I mean it’s been over two weeks.”

Ron found the letter where he had left it and began to read.

_Dearest Ronald,_

_I do so hope this letter gets to you before you leave for training camp. I hope you know how proud I am of you deciding to be an Auror. I know if you apply yourself you can be amazing. I apologize for not writing for a while, but I have been doing some serious thinking over the last couple of weeks. A month ago my parents and I started family counseling with a mind healer._

_We all realized that we needed some help to restore our relationship after trying by ourselves for three months. All we were doing was yelling and arguing and not getting better so I found us a magical mind healer to help, and we’ve been seeing her three times a week now. Her name is Counselor Maggie Stevens and she has had us doing much better. I can actually talk to my mum and dad without them yelling at me. I have great hope that one day we can go back to just being a family._

_I also have been seeing her just by myself to help me find who I am now that the war is over. She has had me do some serious thinking about everything, about the war and it’s impact on me and you and Harry. I’ve talked about us and my reluctance to commit to a relationship with you and why that may be. She’s given me much to think about and I do spend a lot of time thinking about you, Ron, and about us and how much I miss you. I miss Harry too, but not like I miss you. She’s also made me start to think about the future, something I never did during the war. She wants me to visualize what kind of future I want, sort of like a mental Mirror of Erised. She asks me what would I see if I were to actually look into the mirror right now._

_At first it seemed I was just as confused as I was the day I last saw you. Thank you again for your apology for that day, I hope someday we can talk more about that time. But anyway, I started out not really able to see anything in my future, but over the last two weeks the counselor has really helped me start to get a clearer picture. I can’t see all the details, but I can see that **you** are there in every future I can imagine. Not Harry, not Victor, just you. And my parents of course, but you most importantly. I also see returning to the UK and working at The Ministry is some fashion._

_The bad news is that Counselor Stevens says that I need to stay here in Australia with my parents until we work everything out, and that probably won’t be until the time to sit for NEWTS next spring, so I won’t be coming back to the UK until then. Headmistress McGonagall has sent me everything I need to prepare and has got me connected with the magical school here in Sydney, so I should do just fine._

_I am terribly sorry I won’t see you till then and I’m beginning to realize that I think I really want to be with you when I do come back. I know you didn’t react too well when I asked if you would wait for me because at the time I couldn’t commit to you, but I hope and pray that you will. I know that you’ve been helping Luna with her nightmares just as you did for me and I think that’s wonderful, but I hope you don’t get too close. Please wait for me, Ron. Please. I know a year is a long time to be apart and that letters can only convey so much, but I realize now that I should have given you that promise back before I left. I can’t see a future that doesn’t have you in it and I hope you still feel the same._

_I know that you won’t be able to write much while at training camp, but I do hope that you can reply soon. I do so hope that you still love me Ron and I hope to be able to say it back to you in person when I see you next._

_Love,_

_Your Hermione_

Ron put the letter down and frowned. Harry looked over questioningly and asked, “is everything ok? Is Hermione all right?”

“Yeah, she’s fine, she just won’t be coming back until next spring. She and her family are seeing a mind healer and she says it will take until then for her and her parents to get sorted. She plans to come back then to sit her NEWTS, so she won’t see us till then.”

“Yeah, ok, that’s not so bad, kinda what we expected, so what’s with the frown?”

“Here’s the unexpected part, she didn’t say it, but kinda implied that she now realizes she loves me and she should have committed to me before she left. She’s hoping I’m ‘waiting’ for her.”

“Oh crap, I guess you’ve reached that bridge you need to cross. What are you going to do?”

Ron covered his face with his hands and rubbed his eyes. “Not sure, mate. Any ideas? I really have gotten close to Lu and I sorta told her I loved her.”

“Yeah, but what about Hermione? You’ve loved her since 3rd year, don’t you still love her?”

“I don’t think so, mate. When she rejected me before she left, it really did a number on me and also made me think about some of the things she said. What if it’s true that the only reason she’s my friend is because we had to take care of you? We really don’t have that much in common. Lu and I are so much better suited for each other. Lu is quiet and peaceful and kind and she likes me just as I am. Lu is so much less intense and she doesn’t nag and she even likes Quidditch. Now that the war is over and we don’t have to worry about you, Hermione doesn’t seem like such a good match for me. I’ll never be her equal intellectually, and I like being outdoors and actually having fun instead of working all the time.”

“Damn, Ron. I hate to say it, but I agree with you.”

“Thanks, but now I have to figure out a way to tell Hermione without messing up her reconciliation with her family and her own recovery.”

Ron only had a short time before he and Harry had to leave for camp. He wished Luna was there to help like she had before. After thinking for a short bit, he pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote:

_Dear Hermione_

_I just got your letter and I wanted to get off a quick reply before heading to training camp in two hours. I am glad to hear that you and your parents are beginning to heal and reconcile and that you have help to do it. I wish I could meet this mind healer of yours. I understand that it will take time, but agree that you need to stay there as long as it takes. I’m also glad to hear that you are taking time to heal yourself. We went through a lot of crap the last seven years, I know what trauma you’re dealing with._

_Luna has been very helpful to me to process all that we’ve been through, and I’ve helped her too. We’ve become much better friends this summer since Harry and Ginny wanted their own ‘alone time’ so that left us to hang out together. I’ve taught her chess and improved her ability to ride a broom, and she’s taught me about magical creatures and nature._

_I don’t know what it will be like when I see you again since it’s going to be after I become an Auror and only when you come back for NEWTS. It’s hard to predict what we’ll be feeling then. The rejection by you before you left still stings, especially since you mentioned both Harry **and** Vicky. Your words reopened several old wounds that I thought were done, and I’m not sure I can go through that again._

_That being said, I miss seeing you everyday and look forward to seeing you in the spring. I’m not sure what the mail will be like while in camp, so it may be a while before I can write again._

_Fondly,_

_Ron_

Ron showed the letter to Harry and said, “what do you think, Harry? Is this ok?”

“I think it’s ok. You don’t say that you still love her, and you mention Luna a lot, so Hermione might be able to read between the lines, but I think she’ll be ok.”

“Thanks, mate. I wish Lu were here to help me but so it goes.” Ron rolled up the letter and addressed it. He then called out to his father, “Hey Dad, I’ve got another letter for Hermione. Could you take in just like the others?”

He heard his dad reply. “Fine Ron. Tomorrow.”

After getting all their gear together, two hours later Ron looked at Harry, gave a shrug and smiled as he said, “you ready to go become an Auror?” as the portkey took them away.


	7. Clarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters are exchanged and the path becomes more clear

CHAPTER SEVEN

The first two weeks of training camp were over and Ron was exhausted, both mentally and physically. The classwork was far more concentrated than anything Hogwarts had to offer and the physical training made Oliver Wood’s Quidditch practices seem like a cakewalk. Ron was tired, but excited at the same time. Today was the day that the trainees could send their first letter to anyone. Camp rules said that trainees got to send one letter every two weeks and the amount of parchment was limited to one page. The camp staff explained that the theory was “if you have time to write home, you’re not studying hard enough.” At the same time, Ron was conflicted just a bit. Who did he write to? Luna or Hermione? Harry of course was writing to Ginny. After thinking just a bit, he decided to write to Lu and in the letter ask her to write to Hermione explaining Ron’s dilemma and that he’d write to her when he could in a couple weeks.

When he explained his idea to Harry, instead of the attaboy he expected Harry looked at him with a scowl. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? he asked. “Do you think Luna wants to write to a girl you confessed your love to? and at the same time, do you think Hermione wants to get a letter from your current girlfriend?”

“Hermione doesn’t know Luna is my girlfriend yet. I plan to tell her when I write to her in two weeks, but Luna is my girlfriend so I have to write to her first. Hermione can reach any conclusions she wants. She forfeit any other considerations when she left. I only get one page and I’m using for Lu.”

Ron reached for the allocated single page and the provided quill and ink and began to write:

Auror Training Camp   
Secret Location  
September 15, 1998

My dearest Lu:

I cannot believe what a loss I feel when I go to sleep each night and you are not there with me. I grew so accustomed to your comforting presence in my bed and the peace and tranquility you provided me. Our last night together remains the best night of my life. I miss you terribly and look forward to seeing you as soon as I can. Unfortunately, it seems that won’t be until the Christmas holidays. The training schedule has been accelerated so much we don’t get a day off until then, so I won’t see you on Hogsmeade weekends. 

I’m sorry this will be such a short letter. We get one page of parchment and can only send one letter every two weeks. We also only get mail every two weeks which sucks. Anyway, training is going well for both Harry and me. I’m so surprised how easy it is to pay attention in class and do the homework when learning real world practical magic that I can use to protect the people I love. I was never good with theoretical stuff and we don’t spend a lot of time on that. We’re learning mostly real spells and other tools and also learning when to use them. I’m doing real well especially with strategy and tactics. I’m second only to Harry in the mental learning and in spellcasting and I’m first in the group in the physical challenges. I guess it’s a good thing to be tall and have played some Quidditch over the summer.

I do hope you plan to come to The Burrow at Christmas. I look forward to being with you again. I hope school is going well and that you and Ginny are helping each other out. It is sure good to be here with Harry. I miss you so very much.

I have a favor to ask. Since we only get to send one letter every two weeks I chose to write to you and not to Hermione. Would you please send her a short note to her explaining why I haven’t written to her yet? I know it might be awkward but I would really appreciate it. I also hope it’s ok with you that the next letter I can send in two weeks will go to her and not you. I am so bummed that we are restricted so much. I’ll write to you again in four weeks, I promise.

I miss your hugs, your kisses, and your voice. I miss our walks in the garden and playing chess and riding a broom together. I count the days until I see you again.

Your loving Ronald.

_______________________ && _____________________

Luna and Ginny both got their letters from Ron and Harry on the same day while eating breakfast in The Great Hall. Both eagerly read them and then shared their letters with each other. Both girls were glad to finally hear from their boyfriends and to hear that they were doing so well in training. 

After handing back her letter, Ginny looked at Luna and asked, “you are coming to The Burrow for the holidays, yes?”

“I would love to since I really have no where else to go and staying here at Hogwarts would be so lonely, but I don’t want to impose on your family.”

“Mum would love to have you and Ron would too, so you’re coming home with me for the holidays.”

“Thank you Ginny, you really are my best friend.”

Ginny then thought for a moment and said softly, “are you going to write to Hermione like Ron asked you? It would be awkward if Harry asked me to do something like that.” 

“Of course I’ll write a note to Hermione, my boyfriend asked me to, although it will be awkward like you said. I don’t think Ron had a chance to tell her that we’re together, but the fact that I’m the one he chose to write to first should tell her something. Do you think I should just let her know or should I not say anything? I don’t want to be hurtful, but I also don’t want to lie.”

“I think, Luna that you should let Ron be the one to tell her. It would be weird to hear it from you, but the fact that he wrote to you first should tell her something.”

Sometime later Luna pulled out a quill, some ink and parchment and began to write:

Hogwarts Great Hall  
September 17, 1998

Hello Hermione

I am sure that you are surprised to get a letter from me, but Ronald asked me to write to you. He is at Auror training camp and can only write one letter every two weeks, so in his letter to me he asked that I explain to you why he hasn’t written a letter to you yet. He said he’d write to you next time.

After you left Ron and I grew close as we both needed comfort after the war. With Harry and Ginny trying to reestablish their relationship and needing time alone, Ron and I had time to be together and had the chance to get to know each other better. He even taught me how to play chess! 

Ginny and I are doing well at Hogwarts although we miss having Ron, Harry, and you around. It is strange and comforting to be back here at Hogwarts. Headmistress McGonagall has done a wonderful job at bringing everything back together. I hope that you are doing well in Australia and that you and your parents are getting along better. I hope to see you in the spring when you come to sit for NEWTS.

Your friend,  
Luna

Three days later Hermione was sitting on her bed when the owl delivered the letter from Luna. As predicted she did read between the lines regarding Ron and Luna. She re-read the letter two more times before rolling over on her bed burying her face in the pillows as she sobbed, “Oh Ron!”

___________________&&_____________

Hermione didn’t know what to do. It seemed that in her absence Luna had taken her place with Ron, so she concentrated on her time with her parents and their mind healer. She did however talk about Ron extensively with the counselor when it was just her. Counselor Stevens listened sympathetically to Hermione’s anguish that it seemed that Ron had gotten close with Luna. Hermione couldn’t understand what had happened and she looked at her counselor and asked, “why didn’t he wait for me? I told him that I wanted to be with him when I got back and I was sorry I didn’t commit to that before I left. Why didn’t he wait?”

The counselor looked pensive for a moment and then asked, “When did you tell him this and what did he say in his last letter?”

“I told him in a letter he got just before he went to training camp about three weeks ago. He replied just afterward.”

“What did he say to your confession and your request that he wait for you?”

“He said that he had gotten close to Luna during the summer and that he was still hurting from my rejection. He specifically mentioned how hurt he was that I brought up Harry and Victor.”

“Do you blame him for still feeling hurt?” the counselor asked.

Hermione thought for a moment “No, I guess not. I just thought that if I told him I wanted to be with him now, he’d want me back.”

The counselor checked her notes for a bit and then looked up at Hermione with a sad smile and said “It’s been over four months since you left England and Ron, about four months between the time you told Ron you didn’t love him and the time you said you wanted to be with him again. Do you think it might be reasonable that Ron moved on in those four months?”

Hermione’s eyes went wide open as reality kicked in. It hadn’t seemed that long. Suddenly the impact of her words and actions back at The Burrow caved in on her. As a young girl her parents had told her that “actions and decisions have consequences, be careful what you do” and just now she was finally realizing the consequences of her dismissal of Ron’s declaration of love to her. It now seemed that she had missed her opportunity to be with Ron, and the magnitude of that realization crushed her. Hermione gasped and then cried out, “Oh Merlin, what I have I done? I’ve lost Ron forever!” as she fell sobbing from her chair onto the floor.

________________&&________________

Since her last appointment with her counselor Hermione had been terribly distracted. It had been hard to concentrate on school and even her parents wondered what was going on with her. All she had shared was that “she was waiting on an important letter from Ron.” 

October 3rd, her letter arrived. She quickly untied it from the owl and unrolled the parchment. She held her breath as she began to read:

Auror Training Camp  
September 29, 1998

Dear Hermione

I hope that Luna was able to explain why I haven’t written before now and how bollocks up the mail is while we are at camp. I hope you understand. I also hope that all is going well with your parents and that the mind healer is helping you all. I also hope your lessons are going well, I know you’ll get around two dozen NEWTS next spring, especially since you’re not having to spend time keeping me and Harry in line.

This is a hard letter for me to write. Since you left, I’ve thought a lot about what you said last time I saw you. I think you may be right; that the only reason we were together was the war and taking care of Harry. If you think about it, we really don’t have that much in common. As I said before, Luna and I have gotten close this summer, spending a lot of time together. She has terrible nightmares just like you did about Malfoy Manor. We discovered that if she was with me, the nightmares disappeared, so we shared a bed for the last two weeks before she left for Hogwarts. As you might imagine, this brought us even closer. So close that just before she left I asked her to be my girlfriend and she was happy to agree.

Lu and I have so much more in common than you and I. She’s soft and kind and peaceful and I feel a sense of tranquility when I am with her, quite a bit different than when I was with you. She likes me as I am, I don’t feel like I have to prove anything to her.

I guess what I am saying is that you don’t have to worry about saying anything back to me, because I’m sorry, but I can’t say it to you anymore. I look forward to being just your friend again and seeing you in May.

Your friend  
Ron

Hermione put down the letter in shock. This was far worse than she expected, and she didn’t know what to do.


	8. The future path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron gets Hermione's response to his declaration that he was with Luna. Ron and Harry make plans for the future

CHAPTER EIGHT

Two weeks later, October 13th, during their designated ‘mail time,’ Ron received his second letter from Luna and his first from Hermione. Harry also got letters from Ginny and Hermione. Ron knew that Hermione would be replying to his declaration that Luna was now his girlfriend, and he wasn’t sure he really wanted to read it, so he read the letter from Luna first. Her letter was wonderful and so very Luna. It was nice to hear from her about what she and Ginny were doing at school and how Ginny was enjoying being Quidditch captain. It was also nice to hear that Luna’s nightmares had diminished almost completely. Luna explained, “ _Every night when I get into bed, I close my eyes and picture you here with me Ron. I can feel your strong arms around me and I feel my head on your chest. I capture the safety and contentment I always feel when I’m with you and hold that feeling all night. The nightmares just stay away almost as if you really were with me. I love you so much and look forward to being with you again soon.”_

Ron continued and read about how both Luna and Ginny were so proud of their boyfriends becoming Aurors, and how proud they were that they were doing so well in training. Luna had many more words of love, affirmation and encouragement, and Ron smiled to himself when he finished reading.

Harry looked over and noticed Ron’s grin and the unopened letter. He laughed just a bit and said, “You must be reading Luna’s letter based on that lovestruck look on your face, mate.” He then pointed to the unopened letter. “Is that from Hermione?”

“Yeah. I’m afraid to open it. In my last letter to her I told her that Lu was my girlfriend, and I’m not sure how well she took the news. I’m just glad it’s not a Howler. Lu says hello by the way.”

“Well Ron are you a Gryffindor or what? You know you have to face the music sometime.”

Ron gave Harry a funny look. “Face the music? What does that mean?”

“Oh, it’s a muggle expression that means you can’t ignore it forever and you have to deal with it.”

Ron replied, “Yeah, you’re right, here goes,” as he opened the letter and began to read:

_Sydney Australia_

_October 9, 1998_

_Dearest Ronald,_

_I received your letter dated the 29 th. I refuse to believe that you seem to have ignored all that we meant to each other and forgotten your feelings for me. I cannot believe you’ve moved on so quickly. I know that seven years of being together and all that we went through mean more than you let on. _

_You told me you loved me, or have you forgotten? I know you still do. How does one fall out of love so quickly and fall in love again so soon? I think you are only telling me this to punish me for leaving without committing to you. I refuse to believe that you could forget me this fast._

_I told you in my last letter that I had realized that you were the one I wanted and that I regretted not being with you before I left. I told you that I would be able to repeat those ‘three little words’ when I saw you next spring, but you want me to believe you have already forgotten me and are with ‘her?’ I don’t think so. I feel bad enough already; you don’t have to make me feel worse by coming up with this cockamamie story about being with Luna. I mean really, Luna? It’s curious that she didn’t mention anything about being boyfriend/girlfriend in her letter to me. I wonder if she even knows that you’re her “boyfriend?”_

_My counselor reminded me that it was only four months from when I left until I told you I wanted to be with you. Four months is not time enough to erase the feelings you have for me. I saw the intensity in your eyes when you told me you loved me. I know you still do._

_You belong with me, Ron Weasley, and I plan to show you how true that is, so I forgive you for this stupid attempt to make me think you’re with Luna._

_I’m glad that Auror training is going well. I know that you’ll be with me when I get home._

_Your **true** love,_

_Hermione_

Ron put the letter down and shook his head. He was surprised and not surprised at Hermione’s reaction. He knew she would be unhappy, but he didn’t expect her to not believe him and to think his relationship with Luna was made-up as a way to get back at her. How crazy was that?

Harry looked over and noticed Ron’s confused expression. “What’d she say, mate? Did she take the news ok?”

Ron looked up at Harry and shook his head again. “You’re not going to believe this. She thinks I’m pretending to be with Luna as a way of getting back at her. She says she knows that I still love her and she forgives me for punishing her with this made-up story about being with Luna, and that we’ll be together when she comes back in the spring.”

“Blimey Ron, that’s not what I expected, and I’m sure you didn’t either. Is she really that delusional?”

“I don’t know mate, but I’m not gonna waste my one letter replying to her. I’ll tell Luna and ask her to tell Ginny so they’re not surprised if they hear from her about it. I want Lu to know that I’m with her and I want to be with her and not Hermione. I meant what I told her back when we dropped them off at Kings Cross, I love Lu now and only her.”

Ron pulled out his one page of parchment and began writing to Luna. After updating her on how well he and Harry were doing in training, and how pleased he was at how she was keeping the nightmares away, he told her about Hermione’s denial that he was with Luna. He asked Lu to ignore anything from Hermione, and that he would deal with it as best he could considering Hermione was about 17,000 kilometers away. Ron finished his letter by telling Lu how much he loved and missed her and how he was counting the days until he saw her again.

With their letters completed but not yet sent off, Harry looked over at Ron. “Hey, mate, I was wondering about what we’re gonna do when training camp is over is over in December and we don’t have to live in this shithole called training camp barracks. I can’t wait to continue training, but I’m looking forward to doing it at the Ministry so we can live someplace decent.”

“Huh, hadn’t really thought about it Harry. I guess I just assumed I’d be at the Burrow, but now that I think about it, I’m not sure I want to be back home under my mom’s rules, if you know what I mean,” he said with a conspiratory grin. “I’d love to have someplace to live where I can just be with Luna and not worry about mum walking in.” After a moment he continued, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you probably want the same thing for you and Gin, yeah?”

Harry smiled at the thought of Ginny, and then replied, “I was thinking about moving into Grimmauld Place. I was going to ask Kreacher to clean it up for me and have it ready when we’re done with camp. I’d be happy to have him set up a bedroom for you as well. Whatcha’ think?”

“Blimey, Harry that’d be amazing,” Ron replied but then quickly looked down and said in almost a whisper, “but I can’t pay much for rent. We don’t start making real money until after we graduate.”

“Ron!” replied Harry. “No rent. No worries. Ok?”

Ron looked up and smiled, “Ok, but as soon as I can, I’ll pay, ok?”

“Deal”

“Wait a minute!” Ron blurted out. “Luna doesn’t have a place to live after she graduates Hogwarts, would it be ok if she were to move in with me, I mean, us? I’m pretty sure she’d be ok just being in my bedroom, but I don’t want it to be awkward or anything.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile, “Well, I figured Gin would be there too, so if it’s not awkward for you, it won’t be for me.”

“No worries mate, I’ll deal with it, but blimey Harry, I don’t want to be there when Ginny drops that on Mum. Good luck with that! Lu’s dad is still in America so at least we don’t have to deal with him.”

“Oh yeah? You think Molly’s going to be ok with you moving out? You’re going to have to deal with her as well, mate. Good luck with that,” Harry laughed.

Ron thought for a minute and casually replied, “well, I think the best strategy is for us both to hit mum up with the idea at the same time. It will be easier for her to take if it’s both girls, rather than just Gin, and besides, we’ll have jobs by then so it would be reasonable for us to move out. I think we’ll be ok. Now I just have to get Lu to agree. You think Ginny will be ok with it?”

“I think we should both ask our girls as soon as we can. We should both ask in the letters we wrote today, that way they’ll both know what our plans are.”

Harry and Ron reopened their written letters and added the request that both girls come live with them in Grimmauld Place after graduation. Resealing them, both letters were sent off to Hogwarts.

Now all Ron and Harry could do was wait for their reply that would take two weeks. Realizing this, Ron expressed his frustration, “this mail system sucks. I still can’t believe we have to wait two weeks between letters. I can’t wait for this camp to be over!”


	9. Getting Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron and Harry get ready to move on with Luna and Ginny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a bit of filler until the next chapter. Bear with me...

CHAPTER NINE

Training camp continued for Ron and Harry and both continued to excel. Neither one was surprised at their performance after all they had experienced the previous years. The two were neck and neck for top of their class; Harry was best at dueling and spellcasting, Ron excelled at the physical challenges and the bookwork, much to his surprise. Both were looking forward to December 4th, which was their last day at camp and the beginning of a much anticipated holiday break. They were especially happy to note that they’d be free on the 11th so they could meet their girlfriends at Kings Cross. They also looked forward to having one whole week to prepare Grimmauld Place before Luna and Ginny would see it.

Harry had asked Kreacher to restore Grimmauld Place to “it’s former glory” to make it warm and homey and a place that he could have Ginny and Luna live in as well. He asked that it be ready for he and Ron to move in on December 4th. Harry gave specific instructions that the place was to be brightened up, all Dark items were to be disposed and that the portrait of Mrs. Black had to be removed. He offered to let Kreacher live in Regulus’ old room and to keep any of the Black family heirlooms that he wanted. After hearing Harry’s offer of his old master’s room, Kreacher was even more enthusiastic about helping out. Kreacher promised Harry that all would be made ready for Master Harry and his friends by the deadline. Harry also asked that the pantry and larder be fully stocked as well. Lastly, Harry had given to Kreacher a key to the Black Family Vault at Gringotts and granted him permission to spend however many galleons was required. After all the instructions and requests, Kreacher bowed to “Master Harry” and replied that all would be done to master’s satisfaction and he also thanked Harry for giving him work to do.

Ron and Harry were excited as ‘mail day’ had finally arrived and they could see what Ginny and Luna thought about moving in with them. Both boys grabbed their letters as soon as they could and ripped them open. Both scanned them quickly to find the answer and both looked up and smiled at each other. “She agreed!” they both said at the same time and then laughed and then they both went right back to reading their letters.

After finishing his letter from Luna, Ron nudged Harry and asked, “so, did Ginny mention getting a letter from Hermione?”

“Yeah, and she said it wasn’t very nice. She said Hermione accused her of going behind her back to set Luna up with you Ron because she always liked Luna better.”

“Yeah, Luna got pretty much the same venom from Hermione as well. I’m surprised. Hermione always seemed so in control and logical; it surprises me she’s responding so negatively. I mean, how can she be surprised? She’s the one that rejected me, and her waiting four months to say ‘oops, sorry, didn’t mean it’ doesn’t cut it with me.”

“Yeah, mate, doesn’t make sense. I sure hope it’s not awkward when she comes back.”

Harry and Ron both pulled out their parchment and quills and got right to work responding to their girlfriends with details of their plans for Grimmauld Place and Ron asked specifically if Lu would stay with him during the Christmas Holiday. They also updated the girls on how well training camp was going and their continued success. It was still neck and neck between Ron and Harry for top cadet.

Ron felt a little bad that he wasn’t writing this time to Hermione, but he felt much more connected to Lu and wanted send her his love. He knew Hermione would understand his wanting to write to his girlfriend and he also knew that once camp was over, he could write to her all he wanted, but for now it was all about Luna.

Two more weeks passed it was the middle of November. Ron and Harry were counting the days until camp was over and were waiting for letters from Luna and Ginny as always and they weren’t disappointed. Ron was pleased to learn that Lu would love to stay with him during the holidays and that she was looking forward to falling asleep in his arms again. After finishing, Ron turned to Harry and said, “Luna says there’s going to be a Yule Ball this year at Hogwarts, did Ginny mention anything like that?”

“Yeah, mate, she’s says it’s on December 11th and that sixth, seventh, and eighth years can attend and bring a date. She also says that she’ll be able to floo home afterward instead of taking the train that afternoon.”

Ron grinned and replied, “yeah, that’s what Lu says. We gotta make some plans for that. I am so looking forward to redeeming myself after the ball in fourth year. I’m hoping we can wear our Auror dress uniforms instead of dress robes. I want to stay as far away as I can from my look in fourth year.”

Ron had planned to write to Hermione this iteration, but decided quickly that he needed to invite Luna and to do it now. He wrote his one letter to Luna asking if she would allow him to escort her to the ball. He included the usual update on training camp and his normal expressions of love and appreciation for her. He sent it off as soon as he could, he wanted Luna to be sure that he wanted to be with her and for everyone to know she was his girlfriend.

It would be two months between letters Ron wrote to Hermione, but Ron wasn’t worried. Hermione hadn’t sent him another letter since the one claiming he was just pretending to be with Luna. Maybe she had moved on as well. He could only hope.

Ron and Harry spent the next couple days planning for what they would do for their girls and the Yule Ball. They would wear their best Auror Dress Uniform and floo into Hogwarts and meet up with Luna and Ginny. Since it was the last day of school the boys planned to have Kreacher bring the girls’ trunks to Grimmauld Place while they attended the Ball. Ginny could floo home from there, or as Harry hoped, maybe she’d spend the night with him. Luna would be staying with Ron.

After finalizing the details, Ron cleared his throat nervously and looked at Harry. “Uh, Harry, um, can I ask you a big favor?”

“Sure Ron you can ask me anything. What’s up?”

“Um, uh, Luna doesn’t have a lot of money right now with her dad in America and all, and I want her to be able to get the dress of her dreams for the Ball, so, um, I was wondering if you could loan me some galleons I could send her to pay for a new ball gown? I know it’s a lot to ask, but it’d be awesome if she could have something new.”

“Ron, that’s brilliant! I want the same thing for Ginny, but wasn’t sure how to do it. Tell you what, next letter you tell Luna and I’ll tell Ginny that they have Carte Blanche at Madam Maulkins to buy whatever dress they want. I’ll have Kreacher set up an account with her so it will all be taken care of.”

“Carte Blanche, mate?”

“Yeah, it means blank check or something. It means they can get whatever they want.”

“Cool, that’s awesome, thank you so much. I think they’ll both love it. I’ll be sure to pay you back when we start making more than minimum wage, yeah.”

“Your family has given me so much over the years Ron, consider this just a partial payment of what I owe you and all the Weasleys.”

Ron stood and walked over to Harry and wrapped him in a big hug. “What do you mean, mate? You are a Weasley.”

________________&&&_______________

Camp was finally over and Ron and Harry were thrilled to be headed to their new home. Kreacher had reported that all was prepared for master Harry and friend’s arrival at Grimmauld Place. More letters had passed between Ron and Luna, Harry and Ginny and everything was set for the Ball next week. The girls were thrilled to be able to get new ball gowns and promised the boys that they wouldn’t be disappointed when they met up for the Ball.

Ron’s mum was not happy that the boys were not staying at The Burrow, but both he and Harry promised to spend lots of time with the Weasleys over the holidays. Ron hadn’t yet broached the subject of Luna’s residence over the holidays and hoped to get by without a big row.

Finally camp was over and the boys were headed home. Harry and Ron both felt a bit apprehensive when arriving at Grimmauld Place for the first time since the war. The last time they had been here was right after the Ministry break in and just before Ron got splinched when apparating with Hermione. Both pulled their wands just in case. Unlocking the door with his wand, Harry entered first and headed down the entry hall with Ron right behind him. They dropped their bags on the floor and looked around. “Blimey Harry, Kreacher’s done an amazing job here!” Ron almost shouted. “This place looks great!”

Harry nodded silently and wondered at how homey the place now felt. The colors and furniture were warm and inviting. The portrait of Mrs. Black was gone and instead a painting of Hogwarts hung in its place. The two boys explored the rest of their new home and found the entire place was completely redone with that same homey warm feel.

Harry still hadn’t said anything, but after inspecting their bedrooms, he turned to Ron and said quietly, “I think this is how Sirius would have wanted it to be, this place feels like home.” Ron clapped on the back and said, “It does indeed, mate. I know Ginny and Lu will love it here.”

“Kreacher!” commanded Harry and the old elf appeared in front of them. Harry looked down at him and smiled as he said, “Kreacher, this is amazing, you’ve done an excellent job. Well done and thank you.”

Kreacher simply bowed and replied, “Kreacher is glad to serve the new master of House Black, and Kreacher is happy master is pleased. Kreacher did exactly as master asked and is pleased to have been able to keep old family items in his room. Kreacher is grateful for the room and to serve House Black.”

Two weeks passed as Harry and Ron finished moving into Grimmauld Place. Molly was not happy, but was pacified just a bit as the two boys were often over at The Burrow, especially around mealtimes. Neither Ron nor Harry had mentioned their intention to have Luna and Ginny move in with them, and they weren’t quite sure how to bring it up. Kreacher continued to be awesome as he took care of the house including laundry and cooking when needed.

Now that mail was no longer restricted, Ron finally sent a reply to Hermione. He ignored her rant about her belief that he and Luna were pretend, but basically inquired as to how she and her parents were doing and what her plans were for the holidays. He updated her on how training was going and that he and Harry were still tied for top of the class. He also let her know that he and Harry were now living at Grimmauld Place and about the upcoming Yule Ball at Hogwarts, and how he had plucked up the courage and asked Luna to go with him. Ron silently hoped she would see the humor in that sentence.

Both Harry and Ron had received letters from their girlfriends expressing surprise and gratitude for the chance to buy new dresses. Ginny and Luna each told their boyfriends that they “wouldn’t be disappointed” when they saw them in their new ball gowns. Harry and Ron anxiously waited for the chance to see their girls for the first time in over 3 months.


	10. Yule Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training camp is over and the boys get to see their girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the delay but real life gets in the way, and I struggle a bit writing the sexy times. Bear with me.

CHAPTER TEN

Standing in the lounge at Grimmauld Place in front of the mirror, Ron and Harry made their last minute adjustments to their Auror dress uniforms. Ron smoothed over his shoulders and gave a slight pivot to see himself from the side.

“Blimey Harry, we do look good don’t we? It’s a far cry from those hideous dress robes I wore to the Yule Ball back in fourth year. Do you think Luna will like the way I look? I hope I look half as good as you do right now.” Ron laughed as he continued, “I swear if Ginny wasn’t in the way and I wasn’t taken, I’d make a play for you right now, you look so good.”

Harry returned the laugh and smiled at his reflection. He turned to Ron “Sorry Ron, your sister has me wrapped around her finger and I love it. You as well are doing pretty well with Luna.” Stopping for a moment and getting serious he asked, “You’ve got the flowers for our girls, right?”

“Absolutely. Wrist corsage for Ginny and flowers for Lu’s hair, all set, all right here, shrunken and in my pocket. I can’t wait any longer, I know we’ll be early, but can we go now?”

“Five more minutes, loverboy, McGonagall was pretty specific about the time.”

Ron frowned and then turned to Harry with a serious look on his face. “Ok then, let me ask you a serious question. Do you think I’m doing the right thing and being with Luna instead of waiting for Hermione? Am I making a mistake here? It sure feels right to be with Lu, but I always thought it would be me and Hermione, and I have to admit sometimes I can’t believe how strongly I feel for Lu, it almost seems unreal.”

Harry looked pensive for a moment before smiling at Ron and replying, “I’ve seen how you and Luna are together, in fact both Ginny and I have noticed how more calm, relaxed and mature you seem since you and Luna got together. I think she brings out the best in you. We’ve also noticed how Luna doesn’t seem to get lost in her imaginary world anymore since you and her have been together. She’s still Luna, but much more present. I think you ground each other and support each other and are really good together. I too thought you’d be with Hermione, but after seeing you and Luna, you seem so natural together I can’t imagine you with anyone else.”

Ron grabbed Harry in a big hug and said softly, “thanks, mate, I appreciate it, and oh yeah, I think you and Ginny are brilliant together too.”

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Ginny and Luna were getting ready as well. Both were very excited about seeing their boyfriends for the first time since getting on the Hogwarts Express, and both were very excited about the new ball gowns they had found at Madam Maulkins.

Luna was a bit nervous as she still had some uncertainty about her relationship with Ron. After admiring herself one more time in the mirror in Ginny’s dorm room, she looked seriously at Ginny and whispered, “Do you really think that Ron still loves me and will want to be with me after all these months of being apart? What if he suddenly wakes up and realizes he wants to be with Hermione instead of me? I really love your brother and it would kill me if doesn’t want to be with me anymore. What if he’s coming tonight just to break up with me? Oh, Ginny, I’m so scared!”

Ginny wrapped her arms around her friend and said softly, “Ron is arse over teakettle for you Luna, you don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and the way you look at him and there’s no one more perfect for my brother than you, Luna. I like the way its all working out, my best friend is with my brother, and I’m with my brother’s best friend, it’s too perfect to not be perfect. I’m sure Ron is dying just to see you Luna, you have nothing to worry about, it will be wonderful, just wait.”

Ginny looked at the clock on the wall and suddenly screamed, “oh sweet merlin! They’ll be here in two minutes, we have to hurry to get down to meet them in the common room! Let’s go!”

Luna and Ginny had just reached the Gryffindor common room when the floo roared to life and out stepped their boyfriends. Ron and Harry stepped out casually and used their wands to syphon off the soot before looking around. Ron’s eyes finally found Luna’s and he gave her the biggest grin as he ran toward her. He stopped several feet in front of his date and looked her up and down and his grin got even bigger. Luna was wearing a cobalt blue ball gown that had showed off her perfect figure so well. The neckline showed a tasteful amount of cleavage while the beaded bodice helped lift her amazing breasts while hugging her slim waist. The slit in the gown displayed just the right amount of her smooth creamy and fit right leg. “Merlin’s beard, Lu, you look gorgeous!” he exclaimed as he reached for her and pulled her into a passionate kiss. As they broke apart to catch their breath he whispered into her ear, “Oh gods Lu, I’ve missed you so much, so much, and I can’t believe how beautiful you look. This dress you’re wearing is amazing.”

At those words, all of Luna’s doubts and insecurities all evaporated away. She smiled up at Ron and said, ‘Oh Ronald, I have missed you so much as well and I am so glad to see you, and I can’t wait to start the holidays with you.” Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into another wonderful kiss. At the same time any reservations that Ron had regarding his relationship with Luna all disappeared as he lost himself in her.

Ron presented Luna with the flower wreath for her hair. He set it on her beautiful blonde hair and admired how well it went with her dress. Once more he took her shoulders and kissed her soundly and said softly, “blimey Lu, you look amazing, you look like a princess.”

“Oh Ron I feel like a princess, and you look like my prince.” Ron and Luna just smiled and stared in each other’s eyes for what seemed like forever.

“Ah, Ron, ah Luna, shouldn’t we be headed to the ball?” Ron looked over his shoulder at Harry, who was just coming out of a similar embrace from Ginny as he spoke.

“Oh, absolutely,” replied Ron with a big grin. “I can’t wait for everyone to see how beautiful our girlfriends are.”

Ron and Harry took the arms of Luna and Ginny and headed down to the Great Hall where the ball was being held. As they entered the four couldn’t help but hear the gasps and murmurings as the crowd recognized both Harry and Ron and how fit they were in their Auror uniforms and their dates were recognized as well. Ron and Luna especially couldn’t help but hear several versions of “Is that Luna with Ron Weasley? I thought he was with Hermione Granger? Wow, both Harry and Ron look great, No, Luna and Ginny look great.”

After dinner and dancing for a while, the two couples were taking a break and standing a table near the bar chatting softly to themselves when none other than Draco Malfoy and a couple of his unknown friends came up to them. Ron and Harry immediately stiffened up and casually checked that their wands were safely stashed in their Auror issued holsters.

Malfoy walked up with his usual arrogant attitude and said with a sneer to his friends, “look it’s Weasel and Potter, and look who they’re with, Weaslette and Loony.” Draco turned to Ron and said sarcastically, “I see you’ve dumped the mudblood, but you’ve gone for Loony?”

Ron turned slowly toward Malfoy and simply passed his palm in front of him like a wave. Immediately Malfoy turned mute and despite his mouth moving, not a sound came from him. Ron turned toward Harry and Luna and casually said, “Damn useful spell isn’t it Harry? Too bad it only works at close range. And you’d think that if you save someone’s life during the war, and then testified so they get to come back to Hogwarts instead of going to Azkaban, they might be a bit more humble.”

Ron turned back to Malfoy and noticed the surprised but angry look on his face. “Oh yeah Malfoy, we’ve been learning wand-less non-verbal magic in our Auror training. This spell is used to silence anyone needed, but I’ve tweaked it just for you. Anytime you say something insulting about anyone, you’ll go silent. The only exception is Tom Riddle; you can insult old moldyshorts anytime you want. But anyone else and you go silent. On the first offense it’s one minute, second offense two minutes and so on. Even you can do the math.”

Finally Malfoy could speak again and went to pull out his wand. Before he could do anything, the two trained Aurors had their wands at Malfoy’s throat. Harry now spoke in a soft but powerful voice, “You’re of age now ferret. You’re responsible for whatever you do now. No more claiming ‘I did it to save mummy.’ You’ll be held accountable for whatever you do, so I’d be careful. Ron and I aren’t students here, but you are. We’re not beholding to the school rules, but you are, so let’s just put our wands down and not do anything stupid and go have a good time.”

Malfoy lowered his wand reluctantly but then spat out, “I’m calling security!”

Ron looked at Harry and laughed as he replied, “Malfoy, Harry and I are Aurors, **_we_** are security! Now go crawl away and try not to insult anyone anymore tonight.”

With that Ron and Harry turned back to their girls and apologized for the interruption. Both Luna and Ginny were surprised at how calm and controlled both the boys had been. Luna looked at Ron and gave him a quick kiss and said, “I am so proud of how controlled you were with him and I’m very impressed with the wand-less non-verbal magic. I’m also pleased that you were so quick to defend me. I’m not used to that.”

“Well, I hope it doesn’t happen again, but if it does, I’m not going to stand for anyone putting you down Luna. No one insults the woman I love.”

Luna just snuggled into his chest and sighed, “Oh, Ronald.”

They spent the rest of the evening dancing and chatting with friends who were still at Hogwarts. Many of them inquired as to where Hermione was and what happened with her and Ron. Ron was very gracious in his explanations, simply stating that Hermione was in Australia reconciling with her parents and had decided to study there for the year. He said he expected to see her in the spring when she came for her NEWTS.

As the ball was nearing the end, Ron and Luna were slow dancing, holding each other close and relishing being together again. Harry looked over and saw the two smiling and whispering endearments and words of love to each other. Harry wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen Ron so happy. He felt the same being with Ginny after so long apart. Harry looked lovingly at Ginny and kissed her as he whispered, “they look happy together, don’t they? Ron looks almost as happy as I am right now.”

When music stopped and it looked like the ball was over Ron and Harry sought out the Headmistress to express their gratitude for being able to attend. Professor McGonagall greeted them warmly. “Where’s Miss Granger?” she asked. “I expected her to be here tonight. Technically she still is a Hogwarts student so I made sure she received an invitation. I do hope she is well?”

Ron looked at Harry and Ginny before responding. “Well, Professor, she and I had a bit of a falling out immediately after the war. I suppose that she declined your invitation so as to avoid seeing me, especially after I told her that Luna was my girlfriend now.”

The Professor looked surprised. “You and Miss Granger are not a couple? That is completely unexpected. The faculty and I always presumed that you and Miss Granger would be together once the war was over. I can’t imagine what might have happened between you two. You went through so much together.”

Ron answered quietly, “Yeah, I think we were all surprised, but I’m with Luna now and it has all turned out for the best. After being with Lu all summer I know we are much better suited for each other than I was with Hermione. Anyway, thank you again for allowing Harry and I to be here tonight. This was a much better Yule Ball than the last one we went to.”

The foursome thanked the Headmistress one more time and they all headed toward the floo. With Kreacher’s help they managed to transport both Ginny and Luna’s trunks to Grimmauld Place with the four teenagers following close behind. Ron put his arms around Luna as the green flames roared to life.

Upon exiting the floo, Ron quickly grabbed Lu’s hand and led her into the lounge of his new residence. “Let me show you around, Lu. Kreacher has done a wonderful job restoring this place.

After a quick tour, Luna grabbed both of Ron’s hands and pulled him into a kiss. She whispered against his lips, “what I really want to see is your, I mean our, bedroom Ronald. I hope to get reacquainted with all of you really soon. I’ve been waiting for you for over three months Ronald and I don’t want to wait any more. I want you to take this beautiful exquisite dress off of me and I want to see what’s underneath your well-fitted uniform.”

Ron pulled back for a second to look at his girlfriend with a big grin. He pressed his lips against hers and then deepened the kiss. “Right this way, my lady. The best part of living here is we don’t have to worry about anyone interrupting.”

Ron took her to their room, closed locked and silenced the door. He turned toward Lu who was already kicking off her shoes. She turned her back and asked coyly, “unzip me Ron?” Ron stepped over and slowly moved the zipper down her back taking advantage to caress her smooth and soft skin. He reached up to slide the straps off her shoulders and watched as her dress slid down her sleek body until it pooled on the floor around her feet. Ron was pleased that she wasn’t wearing anything except for some Gryffindor-red knickers that were barely there. Lu turned around and kissed her boyfriend passionately. Ron’s hands gripped her small waist and pulled her to him. His hands continued to caress her from her hips to her breasts as they continued to sway and kiss.

Luna pulled away for a moment and observed “one of us is wearing way too many clothes, I think this needs fixing.” Ron started to take off his coat when Luna grabbed his hands and said, “No, Ron, let me do this, please.

Ron dropped his hands as Luna slid his coat off and began to unbutton his shirt. She looked up into his eyes and said, “I’ve been feeling how solid you are all night. Now I want to see what Auror training has done for you because you feel amazing.” She removed his shirt and ran her hands over his toned chest and tight abs and gasped, “Oh, you’re even better than I hoped. You look really impressive Mr. Weasley and I can’t wait to see the rest of you.”

Luna pushed Ron so that he sat on the bed and she removed his shoes and socks before running her hands up his legs and starting to remove his trousers. “I want to take care of you tonight, Mr. Weasley. I’ve missed you so,” she as sultry as she could. Ron lifted his hips off the bed as she took the pants and his boxers all the way off. She smiled at his large erection and wrapped both her hands around him. “Oh Ron, I didn’t get a chance to really see you before, and you’re beautiful. Auror training has done an excellent job on your body. You look like Adonis, Ron, so wonderful.”

Ron wasn’t sure who Adonis was, but he didn’t care. “Thanks, Lu, you look beautiful as well, my princess, so perfect, I love you so much.”

Luna bent down and took Ron into her mouth. Ginny had given her some advice about how best to pleasure a man, and judging by the gasps and moans she heard from Ron, she was doing a good job.

“Oh, Lu, that’s amazing, so good, so good,” he managed to speak aloud as his hands instinctively buried themselves in her silky blonde hair. “So good.”

Luna continued to stroke Ron as her tongue swirled around the head of his cock, kissing and sucking until Ron began quickly to thrust into her mouth and he groaned as he came as hard as he ever had before “Oh, Luna, oh, oh, LUNAAAAA!”

The amount and taste of Ron’s sperm were a bit of a surprise to her, but Luna managed to swallow it all. Ginny had told her that doing so was a turn on for a guy, and judging by the dreamy and satisfied look on Ron’s face it was true.

Also to her surprise, Ron picked her up and kissed her soundly, not caring about tasting himself in her. “Merlin, Lu, that was the best thing ever. I loved how you made me come so hard, now I want you to lay back and let me have my turn.” He slowly lowered her to the bed and continued to kiss her while his left hand claimed her breasts. He loved the look of her long blonde hair as it played out around her head.

Ron continued kissing down her neck, to her shoulder and then to her breasts, sucking on each in turn. “Gods, Lu, your beautiful and your breasts are exquisite. I love the color of your nipples and how they feel in my mouth. I could suck your breasts forever if I could.” Now Ron continued his kisses down her body, stopping at her navel and then at the top of her sexy knickers.

“Where did you get these?” he asked.

“Madame Maulkins when we bought the dresses. Ginny said you and Harry wouldn’t mind if we splurged on some new lingerie. I have other new things to show you…”

Ron looked up and smirked “well, these are damned sexy, I can’t wait for what else you might have,” as he slid the red lace down her legs and placed a kiss right on her mound. He was about to spread Lu’s legs when she moved them herself and put her hand in Ron’s hair. Ron took the hint and began ravishing her with his tongue. He kissed, and nipped, and lapped at her like a man deprived and then used his hand to circle her clit while he pushed his tongue inside of her.

  
As before, Luna’s hips began to rhythmically thrust against him as if they had a mind of their own. “Oh, oh, oh, I’ve forgotten how wonderful you make me feel Ron, oh, oh, please, please, please don’t stop, oh, oh…”

Ron then switched fingers for tongue and pushed two fingers into her wet pussy and used his tongue on her clit. Her hips kept undulating and her panting increased until Ron sucked her clitoris into his mouth and Luna came with a scream, “Oh gods Ronald, oh Ronald, oh, oh, Ohhhhhh Ronnie!”

By this time, Ron was hard again and as Luna came down from her orgasm, he rolled over on top of her. “Is it too soon, Lu or are you ready for me?”

“Now Ron, I want you now!” She took his cock and guided him into her. As he entered, she reached around and grasped him tightly against her and wrapped her legs around him. “Oh gods Ron, I need you now, now and always, always.”

Ron relished the feeling of her warmth surrounding him as he slowly began moving in and out relishing the feeling of her warmth as Luna’s breathing once again began increasing. He wanted to savor the moment so he was in no hurry. Luna, on the other hand had other plans.

“Faster Ronald, faster! Harder, harder, Ron, make me come again!” Ron looked down at her and smiled. She was so beautiful there below him and he replied “for you, Lu, only for you” as he increased the depth and the speed of his thrusts. “Yes, Ron, yes, just like that,” Luna gasped.

He loved how her hips rocked back against him on his every down stroke. They moved in tandem like they’d been doing this their entire lives. Ron’s hand reached up and stroked her breast as he kissed her for all he was worth, murmuring into her lips, “oh Lu, I’ve missed you and I’ve missed this, I love you so much.”

Luna opened her mouth to reply but just then all of Ron’s efforts achieved their goal as she crashed over the edge and all Ron heard was “oh, oh, ohhhhh, Ronnnnnnnn!” as he felt her clench against him. That was all it took as Ron too reached his climax with a “ohhh Godric Luna, ohhh….”

Ron held himself in place above her and with himself still inside as he reached up and stroked her cheek and smiled again. “So beautiful, Lu, so amazing, thank you Lu, thank you for being with me. I love you so much.” He went to pull himself out and roll over, but Luna’s hands and legs clamped him in place right where he was.

“No, Ron, I should be thanking you for loving me so completely. It feels so right to be connected to you. I feel such peace and love and contentment just being with you and with you inside me. I truly feel that we are one being right now and I love you so much too. Stay here for just a moment more and let me look at you some more.”

Luna looked deeply into the blue of Ron’s eyes while he looked down and lost himself in the silvery eyes of his love. Both saw true love, acceptance, and commitment. After a moment, Luna gave a short giggle and then pulled him down for a kiss and released him from her grip. Ron lifted up and rolled onto his right side next to her and wrapped her in his arms. Luna laid her head on Ron’s chest and both fell into a peaceful sleep.


	11. On the Path Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron and Luna spend a bit of time looking ahead

A/N: I know it’s been a while. Here’s a short fluffy, totally fluff transition chapter. Wrapping up our little story next chapter when Hermione comes back from Australia to sit her NEWTs and encounters Ron.

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The morning light streaming through the gap in his bedroom’s curtains found Ron Weasley smiling as he slowly came awake. He had slept better last night than he had since Luna had left. Last night had been amazing; both the Yule Ball and all that transpired afterward. He found himself on his right side with his arms around Luna, spooning her back against his chest. He always loved holding her this way back in the weeks before she left for Hogwarts. This time was different as they both were still without clothes due to their previous activities. He gloried in the feel of her again in his arms and in his bed. She felt so perfect right here right now. He loved her beautiful blonde hair, her soft smooth skin, the graceful curve of her waist, her flat tummy and her perfect breasts with nipples he could die for. He gave thanks to all the deities that she was there with him. Careful not to wake her he pulled her against him just a little bit tighter and buried his face in her marvelous silky hair inhaling the comforting fragrance of her.

Just for a moment his thoughts turned to Hermione. He wondered where she was and contemplated how life would be different if it was her here in his arms. All during the war that was what he had expected, to be with her for always as soon as Riddle was gone. Ron realized he had had tunnel vision the entire time, thinking only of Hermione instead of looking around at what else might be possible. He had never thought that being with Luna would be where he belonged. Not for the last time he was grateful that Hermione had left and allowed him the space to find Lu. He nuzzled her hair and couldn’t resist planting kisses on her neck and shoulder.

Ron felt Luna stir next to him as she slowly awakened. Suddenly she stiffened and her eyes flew open and she looked over her shoulder. She visibly relaxed when she saw Ron’s deep blue eyes looking right at her and she snuggled back against his chest. “Oh Ron, you’re here, you’re really here, I thought I was dreaming again, but you’re here. I’ve been waiting so long to have you here, and I’ve been dreaming of being held by you for so long, I’ve missed you so.” She grabbed Ron’s left arm and pulled it around herself and sighed contentedly. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Ron looked over her shoulder and saw that she had tears in her eyes. “Lu, are you crying?”

Luna gave a slight sniff and gave a watery smile as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cry, but I’ve been wanting to be with you since the day I left and I feel so loved and I never thought I would be loved so much by someone. I always thought that no one would want to be with me, but here you are and you love me and it’s sometimes just overwhelming. It does feel like a dream and I’m so happy, but then I realize that it’s only for a short time and I feel such grief that I have to go back to school and leave you behind, and I’ll miss you so terribly.”

Ron reached up and wiped the tears off her cheeks and then rolled her just enough to plant a soft but sensual kiss on her waiting lips. “Oh, Lu, let’s not worry about what happens in a couple weeks. Let’s just enjoy the moment we’re in and the time we have together. I do love you and can’t wait for us both to graduate and get on with our lives, but for now, I think it best that we get up and you let me make you some breakfast, and then we’ll talk about the holidays and what we’re going to do after. Ok?”

Luna smiled at Ron and pulled him down for another kiss and said softly, “that sounds wonderful Ron, but not just yet, please? I’m not ready to get up, just hold me a bit longer, please, please?” With that she rolled into Ron and laid her head on his chest. Ron gave a short “of course” and wrapped her up again and snuggled her into his side. With smiles on their faces both settled back into a comfortable slumber.

Several hours later after a short but intense lovemaking session Ron and Luna were sitting in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place eating the fry-up that Ron and made. Both had contented grins on their faces as they kept staring at each other. After a bit, Ron put his fork down and looked seriously at Luna.

“Lu?” he started somewhat hesitantly, “we should talk about the holidays, and most importantly, what happens after you graduate Hogwarts. I hope you’re still planning on living here with me, but what about after? Have you thought about what you want to do, and what you want with us?”

“Oh Ronald, I do so want to be with you here or anywhere we go next, it doesn’t have to be here. I hope someday to have a quaint cottage with you somewhere in the countryside, but I just want to be with you. I haven’t sat my NEWTS yet, but I hope to do something with magical creatures. The real ones, not the ones I used to make up as friends in my imagination, but I’m not sure yet what that might be. Is it ok that I don’t know yet? I know that I don’t have any money so I know I have to get job to support myself.”

“Oh Lu, don’t worry about money. I’ll make enough when I’m an Auror to take care of both of us, especially since Harry won’t let me pay rent to live here. We can stay here and save enough to get our own place soon, and I also want to be with you wherever that might be, and I want you to have the freedom to pursue whatever dreams you might have.”

“Oh Ronald, you’re too good to me, but thank you.”

Ron looked thoughtful for a moment and then gave Lu a soft smile as his ears went slightly pink as he said to her, “granted, I know it’s early, and I’m not asking yet, but I see us getting married someday… someday soon, and then when the time is right starting our own family… what do you think?”

Luna leaped from her chair and jumped into Ron’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed with as much love as she could show. Again Ron saw tears in her eyes as she pulled away to catch her breath. She kissed him one more time and then laid her head against his chest.

“Oh Ron, that would be almost too good to be true, I so love you so much, so much,” and then her tears began in earnest. “You’re a dream come true Ronald for loving me as you do, I so feel not worthy of you,” she sobbed, soaking his shirt. “I don’t deserve to be loved so much.”

“Oh, but you do Lu, you do. I’m so glad to be with you, you’ve been amazing from the start, I’m just glad I finally looked around and saw the amazing person you are, so glad…”

Ron took Luna by the shoulders and looked squarely into her silver blue eyes. “Oh, it’s sorted then, we’ll enjoy our holidays together. I’ll graduate in March and start as an Auror. You’ll sit your NEWTs in May and I’ll come see you graduate Hogwarts and then you’ll officially move in with me here. Sorted?”

“Oh Ronald, I can’t wait.”


	12. A New Path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron and Harry get to the Hogwarts graduation. Ron sees Hermione for the first time in a year.
> 
> **** Complete *****

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ron and Harry were both exhausted. The mission they just completed took all of three weeks, not the three days originally planned. Both men looked up at each other as they completed the last of their paperwork.

Harry looked Ron with a tired but satisfied smile, “That was a kickass mission, Ron, yeah? I’m glad we’re putting those slimy bastards in Azkaban. Hard to believe that we’ve finally got the last of the Death Eaters and their wannabies.”

“Yeah, hell of mission. You done, mate?” Ron asked. “I’ll send our glorious reports to Robards if you’re done.”

“Here, it’s all here,” replied Harry as he gave his reports to Ron. “Let’s get out of here, I’ve got an appointment with my bed in 20 minutes. Can’t believe we’re finally going home.”

Ron waved his wand and sent the paperwork on to the boss and quickly agreed. “I don’t care that it’s only half eight, I’m hitting the bed as soon as I shower. I’m just glad we got back in time for Gin’s and Lu’s graduation tomorrow. I hope their NEWTs went ok.”

Both Aurors left their office and headed to the closest floo. Harry stopped and grabbed Ron’s arm and gave him a very serious look. “Hey Ron, you do realize that Hermione will be there tomorrow, yeah? It’ll be the first time we’ll see her since she went to Australia, and it’s the first time you’ll see her since you two split. I hope it won’t be too weird.”

“I know, I know. I know it will be awkward, but I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Right now I just want to clean up and sleep as long as I can. I’m just glad the graduation is in the evening, cause I’ll be able to sleep till noon, but I can’t wait to see Lu.”

The following day Ron and Harry put on their now cleaned field uniforms and headed to the floo again. Ron looked at himself in the mirror and said to Harry, “Blimey, Kreacher did a marvel getting our uniforms clean so fast. I can’t believe we look this good considering we’ve been in the field since forever.”

They took the floo to Hogwarts Great Hall and then headed out to the Quidditch pitch for the graduation ceremony. They hadn’t been allowed to see their girls before the ceremony so they were looking forward to the celebration afterward. Ron knew he’d see Hermione as well as he had personally invited her to meet up with all of their friends.

Since starting as an Auror, Ron had exchanged many letters with Hermione so he knew she’d be there. Their letters had been friendly and cordial, but Hermione never mentioned Luna and Ron was gracious enough to focus his letters on Harry and himself along with Hermione’s relationship with her parents and her own recovery from the trauma of the war. Hermione had said she and her parents had finished with their family counseling and were getting along fine. She did say she was disappointed they weren’t returning to the UK as they loved their life in Australia.

Hermione also mentioned that she too had finished her own individual counseling and now had a much clearer picture of who she was and what she wanted in life. They had both agreed they would need some time to talk together alone after the graduation. Both stated they wanted to remain friends, although Hermione’s letters implied she wanted much more than that. Ron was looking forward to seeing her, but he still was wary of what she expected.

The graduation ceremony was held on the large lawn in front of the lake. The location and the weather made it easy for Ron and Harry to almost forget what had happened here just over a year ago. Ron pondered everything that had occurred since the battle and Riddle’s demise and was struck at how different it had all turned out.

First, he was no longer with Hermione. He had always expected to be with her forever, but her rejection before leaving for Australia had caused him to reevaluate their relationship. He now realized that she had been correct in her assessment that they were only together for the war and to protect Harry. Hermione had also been correct when she pointed out they really had nothing in common, and Ron was now grateful that they had broken up.

Second, he was with Luna. Luna. Lu. What an amazing surprise to be with her. There was so much more to her than he had realized and after spending time talking about their childhoods he understood where her obsession with made-up creatures came from. It still saddened him to think she grew up so alone that she had to make up creatures just to have friends. He loved her and vowed that she’d never be alone again.

Three, he wasn’t at Auror training camp; he and Harry were now a successful Auror team after completing the accelerated training program. Originally he thought it would take the normal 18 months to become an Auror. He was just glad that the higher-ups allowed he and Harry to remain partners.

It was different than he expected, but he knew it was good.

The ceremony ended after all the speeches and such. All the Weasleys including Ron and Harry stood and cheered when Hermione, Luna and Ginny received their diplomas, but were now headed to the Great Hall for the celebration. Ron ran up to Lu and wrapped her in a big hug, twirling her and lifting her off her feet all the while claiming how much he missed and how proud he was of her graduating. He gently placed her back on the ground and tenderly took her face in his hands and kissed her. After just a moment he wrapped her in a hug again.

Ron looked into her beautiful eyes and whispered, “I can’t believe you’re finished Lu. I’m so proud you graduated, but I can’t wait to take you home when we’re done here. I missed you so much.”

“Oh Ron, I can’t wait to begin the next part of our lives, especially since we’ll be together.”

Ron released her and turned toward his family as he saw Harry and Ginny do the same. Ron went over and gave a hug to his sister and offered his congratulations as well. He let go of Ginny and asked, “Where’s Hermione? She’s here right?”

Ginny motioned with her head to the left and said, “she’s right over there, Ron, all by herself.”

Ron looked over and his eyes locked with Hermione’s and he gave a big smile. “Oi, Granger, what are you doing over there?” he called out. “All the Weasleys are over here and you’re still an honorary Weasley. Come on over here.”

Ron looked at Luna who gave him a quick nod and then ran over to Hermione with his arms open wide. “C’mere you, I’ve missed you and I’m really glad to see you again.” Ron surprised her and everyone else by throwing his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a warm hug. Ron lightly kissed her head through her bushy hair and whispered, “I am glad to see you, Hermione, I’m glad that my best friend is back, at least for a little while. I look forward to us chatting together, just the two of us.”

Hermione was surprised at the warmth of his greeting and melted into his hug. She had missed him and missed this. It felt good for her to be here wrapped in his arms even if it was only for a short while. She couldn’t miss seeing the intensity of Ron’s greeting of Luna and their kiss. For the first time the reality of Ron being with Luna was getting through to her and she couldn’t help but let out a quiet sob.

Ron pulled back and looked at her with concern. “Are you ok Hermione?

Hermione gave a quiet sniff and replied, “Honestly Ronald, I’m fine, and it’s good to see you too. I was just surprised at your reunion with Luna. You two really are together, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but we’ll talk about that later. Right now let’s get you to the rest of the family.”

Ron walked Hermione over to where Harry and the rest of the Weasleys were still standing and handed her off to Harry and Ginny so they could greet her as well. Ron walked over to Luna and put his arm around her and whispered in her ear, “was that ok, me and Hermione?”

“Of course, she was your best friend and you haven’t seen her in a year,” replied Luna. “I would expect nothing less from you. You have a big heart, Ron Weasley, and I know that you love me, so I have no concerns, and I know that you love Hermione, just in a different way now, so it’s all ok.”

“Thanks, Lu. It was interesting, she seemed to finally get that we’re together and I don’t think she was happy. I told her that she and I would have some time later to really talk.”

“Oh Ron, do be kind and gentle with her, but be honest as well. She has gone through so much.”

* * *

Later that evening as the celebration was winding down, Ron and Hermione finally got the chance to talk. They sat down together at a small bench at the edge of the Hall. They could look out the window at the Hogwarts grounds as well as at all the people still celebrating. Ron took Hermione’s hands and looked at her.

“You’re certainly looking well, Hermione. How did your NEWTs go?” Ron asked just to get the conversation started.

“Thanks and all the tests went well. McGonagall did a great job helping me get ready. But that’s not what’s important right now, Ron. Last time we saw each other you said you loved me, but I can see that may not be true anymore. Do you love Luna, Ron? Do you love her like you loved me?”

Ron looked across the room where he saw Luna talking with his mum and it brought a small smile to his face.

“No, Hermione, I don’t love Lu like I loved you, the love I have for her is so much more deeper than that. You were right when you said that maybe we were together just because of the war and Harry. Lu and I are together because of just who we are, there’s no one else, just us and we work so well together. She’s soft and warm and quirky enough to be satisfied with just me, not the person she wishes I was, just who I am now. With you I always felt as if I needed to prove myself all the time. I don’t have to do that with her, we are just comfortable being us being together. So, yes, Hermione, I do love her. I’m sorry. I did love you, and I still do love you, but not like that anymore.”

Ron looked and saw tears starting to fall down Hermione’s cheeks. She looked up and gave Ron and watery smile. She squeezed his hands and said, “After spending a year in counseling, I realize that I made a big mistake last year when I didn’t tell you I would be with you when I came back. When I didn’t commit to you like you asked. I know it hurt you when I brought up Harry and Victor, and I don’t really know why I did. Harry is with Ginny and they look good together. Victor got married during the war and I really have nothing in common with him. I was stupid not to realize what I had when I threw it all away. I still love you, Ron Weasley and it will be hard to now live my life without you in it. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You’re still my best friend, Hermione. I’ll still be in your life if you let me, but maybe not in the way you hoped. I still care deeply for you and always will. You’ve been an important part of my life and I want to keep it that way. I know it may be difficult for you to see me with Lu, but we’ll try and be sensitive to that.”

“Thank you, Ron. I hope to be part of your life, and Luna’s too. Would it be ok if I kissed you one more time? I want to have something to remind me of what I might have had if I hadn’t been so stupid. I should have listened to my heart instead of my head so I could have what Luna has now.

Ron looked at Hermione and put his hands on her back and pulled her into their last kiss. Hermione opened her mouth for more, but Ron kept his lips closed and kept it chaste and friendly. It was over quickly and then Ron released her and stood up.

“We’ll have more to talk about later, Hermione, but I need to go be with Luna now. She’s going to be living with me at Grimmauld Place with Harry and Ginny. I hope to have you over soon. Goodbye, Hermione, and congratulations again on graduation.”

“Bye Ron. Thanks.”

Hermione watched as Ron walked over and pulled Luna into another hug followed by a much more passionate kiss than the one she got. Hermione hung her head and cried as the love of her life left her and started his life with someone else. The consequences of her actions a year ago became clear. The weight of it all crushed her and she felt nothing but despair. Oh how she had messed up her life.

_fin_


	13. Epilogue -- 4 Years on the path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four years have passed since the Hogwarts graduation. How do our five characters end up?

A/N: I received some feedback that I may have ended this story a bit abruptly, so here’s an epilogue to wrap things up. Of course, this is AU.

EPILOGUE – Four Years Later

Ron and Luna Weasley along with Harry and Ginny Potter both arrived at the Burrow at almost the exact same time, apparating in from their respective homes. It was Sunday, which meant mandatory attendance at the Weasley Family Brunch. Ron and Lu had gotten married only a year after Luna’s graduation from Hogwarts and they had moved into their own home right after the honeymoon. Ron and Luna missed being with Harry and Ginny at Grimmauld Place, but were ecstatic to have their own place.

Harry and Ginny waited another year before finally tying the knot mainly because they didn’t want to divert any attention away from Ron and Luna. The foursome got together frequently and often included other friends. 

Hermione was a familiar sight at both places, but she had remained single. There had been many first dates and a few seconds and thirds, but no one she met seemed to measure up to the standard she required in a partner. After a while she’d basically given up. If her personal life was lacking, her career and success at work were brilliant. She had quickly risen to be the head of Magical Creatures and had just been promoted to Chief of the Legal Division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was excited about being able to work more closely with Harry and of course, Ron, and for the chance to further eliminate any pro-pureblood laws and policies.

Hermione often wondered ‘what if?’ when thinking back to the days immediately after the war. What if she had accepted Ron’s love instead of rejecting him? Would she and Ron have married? Would they still be married? Would they have children and what of her career? Every time she started to wonder what if? she would be filled with regret for her decision or really lack of decision back then. She was proud of her career, but it seemed that’s all she had. She longed for someone that understood her as Ron did. Someone that wasn’t intimidated by her intelligence and drive and would challenge her like Ron did. She settled for just being Ron’s friend now and tried not to be jealous when she saw him with Luna.

Ron was still in the Aurors, he himself doing well as he was now Director of the Strategy and Tactics Group. This position kept him from most field missions, and Luna was most grateful for that, as she didn’t have to worry so much. He played on the Auror Quidditch team in a pickup league and still enjoyed beating everyone in chess. 

Luna finished her Mastery in Magizoology after Hogwarts and enjoyed many part time positions. She was a consultant for Hermione on Magical Creatures and often filled in and helped out Hagrid at Hogwarts. Early on she had participated in several field safaris but gave those up when she realized that she just missed Ron too much to be gone for 6 to 8 weeks at a time. Now she spent quite a bit of time maintaining their extensive garden and just being there for Ron.

Ginny was enjoying her Quidditch career with The Holyhead Harpies and was the reigning league MVP. She had just finished a successful World Cup with the English team but was disappointed they had lost in the final when the Peruvian Seeker caught the snitch after only 5 minutes. It was the shortest World Cup final ever, and England had lost 150 – 40 with Ginny scoring all the English goals. She was still proud of her efforts and had been the Cup’s leading goal scorer.

Harry was now Deputy Chief of the Aurors and was disappointed to learn how much of his time was spent on administrative details. The good news was they had captured all the former Death Eaters and had essentially squashed any groups trying to resurrect the old pureblood ideals. He provided major support to Ginny’s career, attending almost every one of her matches and adjusting his schedule to match hers.

The four greeted each other that Sunday and made their way through the wards to the house where the Matriarch admonished them for being the last to arrive. They walked in and saw that all the Weasleys and spouses and kids where there crowded around the dining table. Even Hermione had come. She was always considered an honorary Weasley and made it to brunch about once a month. The four quickly found their normal places and now that everyone was here the feasting could commence.

The conversations around the table were loud and raucous as normal with everyone talking to everyone about any and everything. Bill expounded on the latest goings-on at Gringotts. Charlie talked about the latest dragon to hatch, while Percy bloviated about his latest triumph at the Ministry. George shared about the latest Wheezes products.

After all had eaten their fill and were pushing themselves away from the table, both Harry and Ron stood at the same time and both said, “I’ve got an announcement to make.”

Ron looked at Harry surprised, and Harry returned the same look. Ron smiled and asked, “you’ve got an announcement as well?”

“Uh, yeah, um, it’s really Ginny’s and mine.”

“Funny, my announcement is Lu’s and mine too.”

The rest of the family was looking at each other with questioning eyes while Ginny and Luna just sat back with shy grins on their faces. Molly was the first one to catch on and started to bounce in her chair.

Harry gestured to Ron and said, “Go ahead, you go first, Ron.”

Ron grinned and looked at Lu before looking around at his family. “Well, uh, next March, there’s going to be another Weasley, Lu is pregnant.”

There was a huge roar in response and Molly started to get out of her chair toward Luna when Ginny gave a loud whistle which quieted everyone and froze them in their tracks.

“Oi, shut it,” she yelled. “Harry gets a chance too.”

All eyes shifted from Luna to Harry expectantly. “Well,” Harry said with a huge grin. “Next March there’ll be another Potter, Ginny is also pregnant.”

Luna and Ginny reached for each other with hugs while the room exploded again. Ron and Harry nodded at each other before being enveloped in hugs from the family. The celebration continued for quite some time before settling down again. Ron grabbed Harry and whispered something in his ear. Harry looked up and nodded yes and whispered back to Ron. Both men had grins on their faces as they both walked over to their other best friend.

Hermione stood up and there was a three-way hug with her friends as she offered her congratulations to both. 

Ron leaned back and asked quietly, “Hermione, Luna and I have a favor to ask.”

Harry smiled and looked at Hermione and said, “Ginny and I want a favor as well.”

Hermione looked at her two boys and said hesitantly, “ok, what?”

Harry gave Ron a nod and Ron said, “Hermione, we want you to be godmother to our children. We both had the same idea and just agreed that we’d both ask. Would you be willing to do double duty?” 

“Oh, Ron, Harry, of course. I’m honored. I’d love to be godmother to your kids, thank you.”

Harry smiled and pulled both back into the three-way hug and said softly for just their ears, “Thank you Hermione, I’m so glad and remember it will always be us three, always. Us three. I love you both so much.”

Through her tears, Hermione looked at her two best friends and replied, “always, always, us three, always.”


End file.
